Should've Been Us
by Hopeless-Romantic-Daydreamer
Summary: June 1997- Gabriela Dawson is a Junior in High School. Antonio Dawson is in the process of completing his training at the Chicago Police Academy. Fast forward to 2013, Antonio is a top Detective in Vice. Gaby is a paramedic within Firehouse 51. What happens when someone from their past makes a sudden reappearance in their lives? What consequences from the past will appear?
1. Complicated

**_Chicago... June, 1997..._**

"MAMA!" Josephine "Josie" Fraser shouted from upstairs.

"What, Josie?" Evangeline "Dixie" Fraser called from the kitchen.

"Why am I moving schools the last month of junior year?"

"Josephine, just quit your complaining and get your ass down here... you're gonna be late." William "Billy" Fraser shouted. "I'm not going to be late because you're being pissy."

Josie groaned. Her father didn't get it. They'd just moved from New Orleans to Chicago, well back to Chicago. Josie had been born here but when she was 5 they headed back to her mom's hometown. She had just turned 17 and her dad had been offered a position within the Gang Unit of the Chicago Police Department. He had been a patrolman in Chicago before working Homicide in New Orleans. She was probably going to be the youngest senior in the school, but her parents... specifically her father, didn't seem to care. She didn't want to go to a real school. She wanted to keep doing the homeschooling her mom had had her do for the last three years.

It was June and the end of the school year in all Chicago high schools. Her mom had insisted she start 'real' school now, so as to stay caught up with the other kids going into the 12th grade. Josie pulled on the last piece of her school uniform and headed down into the kitchen.

"You look very nice, chère." Her mom complimented her with her distinct New Orleans twang.

"It's a uniform, Mama. It's... ridiculous."

"You're in a Catholic school." Her father grunted. "Grab your lunch and let's go."

"Yes, Daddy." Josie knew not to argue with her father. He said loved her, but he was strict as hell. Most people tended to assume that he wasn't even her real dad. She hugged her mother and headed out to the family vehicle. She was praying that this school would be more accepting than the first one they had registered her when they moved back last month. She hadn't been well received because she was always the youngest in her classes.

Billy grabbed his gear. "Let's go."

Josie followed him out to their Jeep. She just kept repeating, "This is only for another year... this is only for another year..." in her head. After she graduated high school, she was moving back to New Orleans to go to university. She wasn't staying here one day longer than she had to. She hated winters in Chicago. She would rather deal with hurricanes any day.

The Jeep came to a stop. Her father turned to her. "Don't cause too much trouble."

"Yes, Daddy." She said. "Are you picking me up after school?"

"You're mother will call the school to tell you who's coming. You may just have to take the bus." He signalled to her to get out.

She got out and wished him luck in his new job. She stood there as he pulled out, tires spitting dust and rocks behind him. She looked up at the building. "Fuck me." She groaned. "I so cannot wait until June next year." She headed up the large steps and headed into the school. She headed to the main office to get her schedule.

A perky secretary, something she definitely didn't expect to see in a Catholic school, greeted her. "Welcome to Holy Trinity High School."

"Thank you."

"I'm Mrs. MacDonald. I'm taking you're our new student."

"I am." Josie was surprised. Maybe this wasn't going to be too bad.

"It's a pleasure to have you here. Our principal, Mr. Kelly will be out shortly. He's just dealing with someone at the moment."

"That's no problem. I came early."

Mrs. MacDonald signalled to some very comfy chairs for Josie to wait in. Josie sat and waited patiently for the principal to meet with her. Suddenly a door just behind the large secretary's desk opened. Mrs. MacDonald pointed to where Josie was sitting. A tall man in a three-piece suit came to greet her.

"You must be Josephine." He extended his hand.

She stood up and shook it. "I am. I prefer to be called Josie, sir."

"Oh, of course. Josie, I'm Mr. Kelly. I'm the principal here at Holy Trinity. Welcome to our school."

"Thank you, sir."

"Come into my office. I have someone I'd like you to meet."

Josie followed him into his very spacious office. There were certificates, trophies and medals that covered the one wall. On the other wall were pictures of people Josie assumed were alumni. She turned and faced a young woman; she was guessing was finishing her junior year like herself, but was closer to 18.

"Josephine Fraser, meet Gabriela Dawson. She'll be your buddy for this last month of the school year to help you settle in ... and if it works out, she'll help you in the fall as well."

"Hi Josephine. I prefer Gaby." Gabriela extended her hand.

"I prefer Josie." Josie laughed as the two shook hands.

Mr. Kelly just shook his head. "You young women and your nicknames. So, Gaby will your guide and will help you understand your schedule and the school bus routes and such. We got a call from your mom saying that you'd be taking the bus for the rest of this year." Mr. Kelly extended her a piece of paper. "Here's your schedule. Gaby will walk with you to each of your classes to make sure you don't get lost. We have a Mass tomorrow morning, so she will make sure you know how to get to the chapel as well."

Gaby peered at the schedule. "Mr. Kelly, we're in all the same classes."

"Even better." He smiled.

"Thank you, Mr. Kelly." Josie smiled. This was definitely better than what she had originally expected.

"You're very welcome. Enjoy your first day and let Mrs. MacDonald or myself know if you need anything."

Josie smiled and nodded. Mr. Kelly opened his office door and Gaby and Josie left.

"So, curious... why are you just starting here now... with a month left of Junior Year?"

Josie explained her situation. "I was born here... Mama got an opportunity to go and teach nursing back in New Orleans when I was five. We were there for 11 years and then we just moved back last month. My dad's in the CPD now." She knew not to mention which unit he belonged to. "I've been homeschooled the last three years."

"You're only 16?" Gaby did the math from what Josie had explained to her.

Josie blushed and nodded. "Actually, I just turned 17. I guess we weren't there for a full 11 years."

"Wow. Maybe you can help me with math or something."

Josie laughed. "I can try. I'm not exactly a math whiz... bio, history... languages... no problem."

"Great." Gaby grinned. "Alright, so we have Lit first thing every morning."

Josie stuck her tongue out. "Eww! I hate Lit."

"You won't hate Mr. Walker." Gaby smirked. "He gets us to act out the plays we do and he does cool stuff. Put it this way, you won't be falling asleep in that class."

"That I can live with." Josie looked at the schedule. "AP history?"

"Easy class as long as you pay attention to the lectures."

"Math?"

"He drones on but he's not super complicated."

"Bio?"

"How are you with labs?"

"I'm not squeamish. My mom's a trauma nurse."

"Then you're gonna survive." Gaby looked at the last two classes. "Theatre?"

"I was raised in New Orleans... it's always a play or theatrical thing goin' on."

"Cool... and French?"

"I figured it'd be easy."

"Then you're set." Gaby opened the door to head to one of the upper levels. "This is the fastest way to Mr. Walker's class."

* * *

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* * *

At the end of the day, Gaby led Josie to where they could catch the bus. "So, Josie, where do you live?" Josie rattled off her address. Gaby's jaw dropped. "Oh my God! You're literally my next door neighbour."

"Really?"

Gaby nodded. "Yeah. I knew someone had bought the house, but we never saw anyone move in."

"My dad insisted on buying all new stuff because my mom didn't want to sell the house in New Orleans. I think though, my parents are going through some rough patch... I'm not sure... but they may be separating."

"Ouch. That sucks. Sorry, Josie."

"Meh." Josie shrugged. "Even if they do get divorced or whatever, there's no way that my dad will let me move back there. He hated New Orleans. He hated... well he basically hates everything and everyone."

"Sounds like a peach." Gaby said as they walked towards the bus stop near the school.

Josie was going to say something else, but a car horn interrupted her. The girls turned to see a deep blue 1978 Camaro pull up next to them. The window was rolled down. "Hey, sis... who's the new girl?" A man's voice came from the car.

Gaby leaned down. "Hey Antonio. Thought you were still at the academy?"

"I'm coming back from the boxing gym. Who's the new girl?" He pointed to Josie.

Gaby grabbed Josie's arm and pulled her to the car. "This is Josie. Turns out she's our new neighbour."

Josie leaned in next to Gaby. "Hi." She replied timidly.

"Josie, this is one of my brothers, Antonio." Gaby turned back to her brother. "What do you want?"

"To offer you two a ride before the rain starts." Antonio grinned.

Josie didn't know if he could see it, but she was blushing. Her heart was racing. She looked to Gaby. "It's gotta be better than waiting for the bus." She pointed to the sky. "Clouds do look pretty nasty."

Gaby nodded. She opened the door and crawled into the back seat. "Josie, you sit up front. It's not easy climbing into this thing if you're not used to it."

Josie sat down and shut the door. She rolled up the window. "It's not that bad."

"Hey, this baby's a classic." Antonio said as he pulled away from the curb. "Dad and I fixed this thing up the same way he did with the Mustang Tiago bought when he was in high school."

Gaby groaned. "Thank God I'm not into cars."

"So, Josie. How do you like Chicago?" Antonio turned his attention to Gaby's new friend.

"It's colder than what I'm used to." She whispered. It was June and hot, but Chicago was definitely nowhere near as hot as the Gulf Coast.

"Where you from?" He was curious about their new neighbour.

"I was born here, but raised in New Orleans. We just moved back a month ago."

"Lots of fun, out in New Orleans?"

Josie nodded. "Definitely. I miss it, but I promised my dad I'd finish school here and then go to college or university."

"Well, welcome back to Chicago." He smiled. "So, Gaby's your buddy?"

"Yep." Gaby said from the back. "I like her. She's seriously the smartest kid in all our classes. And she's the youngest."

"How old are you?" Antonio was genuinely curious. Josie looked to be about the same age as Gaby, but age can be deceiving. He knew that happened all the time. His mom was always mistaken for his sister.

"17... I just turned 17 a couple days ago... I'll be 18 when I graduate next year though.."

"Sweet." Antonio pulled into the driveway next to hers. "So, you wanna come in? You and Gaby can do homework... it's gotta be better than waiting in an empty house."

"How do you know it's empty?"

"Well, your dad isn't home and your mom left when I came home before going to the gym."

"Oh." Josie didn't think her mom was starting at the hospital yet, but who knew anymore. "If it's okay with you guys?"

"Well, I'm the one running the Dawson house right now, so yeah... it's fine." Antonio laughed.

"Your parents aren't home?" Josie asked as she gathered her backpack off the floor.

"They're in the Dominican. They go once or twice a year to deal with their properties there and visit their brothers and sisters."

"You're Dominican?" Josie quickly realized how dumb that question sounded.

Gaby snorted. "Yeah. Sorry, I guess I should've mentioned that."

Antonio shook his head. "Girls. Alright, well... let's go inside and you two study and I'm going to get ready for the next round of exams at the Academy."

"Which Academy are you at?" Josie asked, following the Dawson siblings to the front door.

"The Police Academy. I'm gonna make it up the ranks and be a Detective one day."

"If you survive being a patrolman first." Gaby reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah." Antonio mocked her as he unlocked the front door.

Josie froze. "Shit." She exclaimed.

Antonio and Gaby turned to face her.

"Sorry." Josie covered her mouth. "I just forgot... If I'm not home, my dad may flip."

"Go leave him a note on the door." Gaby suggested.

"Maybe call the District and have them relay the message?" Antonio added.

"I'll do both." Josie quickly grabbed her notepad, scribbled a note and ran over to put it on the front door.

"Should we be worried about her?" Antonio whispered to Gaby once they were alone.

"Her dad sounds like a piece of work... and she thinks her parents are separating."

"She's probably right... I saw her mom leave with a suitcase set in a cab."

"Shit." Gaby said. She saw Josie running back to them. "Don't tell her."

Antonio nodded and headed into the house.

"Welcome to la Casa Dawson." Gaby smiled, allowing Josie to walk in first.

The first thing Josie noticed was how bright the house was. There was artwork on most of the walls and they were definitely of Dominican origin. There were flowers on the table in the centre of the main sitting area. "Wow."

"What?" Gaby asked as she put her coat in the hall closet.

"You have colour in your house... and artwork... and FLOWERS!" Josie was just in awe.

"Don't you have that kinda stuff?" Gaby asked, glancing at Antonio who was probably more in shock than Josie was.

"Uh... no. My dad doesn't believe in 'frouffy' stuff. He just wants a place to hang his clothes and everything is so minimalist. It's like living in a hospital." Josie sighed. "Anyhow... enough about my sad life... where can we set up to do homework?"

Gaby looked to Antonio. "Uh, we can use the kitchen. I'll go set up right now and maybe get some snacks." Gaby turned and headed into the kitchen.

Antonio stepped forward. "Let me get your coat." He helped her get the coat off and put in the closet.

She blushed. Being homeschooled for the last few years, she hadn't been around many boys. Her dad being a tough cop didn't help that either. Antonio was a very good-looking guy. He was about 5'10" tall and very fit. His dark hair was slicked back a little and his eyes were the colour of dark chocolate. He had a diamond stud in his left ear that glimmered in the light of the entryway. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Look, you ever need anything... anytime... call us... come over... we'll help you out."

"Is it that obvious?"

"Is what that obvious?" Antonio attempted to play dumb.

Josie sighed. "That my dad is the biggest ass hat in the world."

"I wasn't going to say anything." Antonio said. "Look, if you need anything... Gaby or me... we'll help you."

"I really appreciate that." Josie smiled. "I guess I should... um... go do some homework." She went towards the kitchen.

Antonio headed to the living room where he had set up his Academy stuff. He thought about Josie's situation. It sucked. She was a sweet girl and she was stuck with a Nazi for a father. That was no way to live. He wished his parents were here. They'd know what to do. Until they were back, he was the man of the house. He was 20, almost 21. He sighed and went over his notes for how to disarm a suspect. His mind couldn't focus. All he could think about was his new neighbour. He slammed the book closed and went to eavesdrop on his sister and Josie.

* * *

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* * *

Around 6 that night, Gaby and Josie were making supper when there was loud banging on the front door. Antonio reacted. "You two stay here." He headed to check on who was trying to bust the door down. "I'm coming!" He opened the door to see a rough looking man in a leather jacket. "Can I help you?"

"You can give me my daughter back." He growled.

"You're Josie's dad?" Antonio wasn't overly surprised. He fit the personality of the man Josie had described to him.

"Her name is Josephine and yes." He pushed his way into the house. "Josephine, get your ass over here now!" He bellowed.

"Sir, she's studying with my sister. They're in the same classes." Antonio was trying to be diplomatic about it, but he really wanted to deck the bastard.

"I don't give a damn!" Billy Fraser barked. "She's my daughter and I expect her to be home when I get there."

Josie ran around the corner, cramming her binder into her school bag. "I'm here. I'm coming. I'm sorry, Daddy. Gaby and I got really into this exam prep."

Billy grunted. "Where's your coat?"

"Here." Antonio handed Josie her coat.

"Thanks." Josie whispered. She put the coat on and turned to thank Antonio and Gaby. "Thanks. I'm glad to have met you guys."

"Same here." Gaby smiled. She felt bad for Josie. No one should treat their daughter that way. If her parents had been here, she was certain her mother would've lost it on him. Latinas were very scary when pissed off, but her mother took the prize on scariest ever.

Josie was going to say something else but her father grabbed her by the arm and yanked her out the door. "See you tomorrow." Josie managed to call out before disappearing from their sight.

Antonio closed the door, locked it and turned to face Gaby. "What the hell was that?"

"She said he was a mean man."

"That wasn't just mean, Gaby. That man is a monster. And he's a cop?" Antonio cringed. "She's not safe there." He tried to see out the window, but it was raining too hard.

"Well, whatta ya want me to do about it?" Gaby asked. "I'm 17, almost 18. I can't do much about it. You're the one in the Academy... can't you inquire about him?"

"I think I could... I don't know... but she doesn't deserve that." Antonio looked out the window towards Josie's house. "We may need to rescue her."

"I'll talk to her tomorrow." Gaby agreed. "We'll come up with something to be able to help her."

* * *

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* * *

"Where's Mama?" Josie asked rubbing her arm when she got in the house.

"New Orleans." Billy said bluntly.

"What?!" Josie exclaimed. "Why?"

"Because she left me. She only came to help you settle in. We're divorced. Have been for the last month." He grabbed a beer from the fridge. "Now, make something to eat."

"What? Divorced?" Josie was in shock.

"Yes, that's what I said. Now... make some God damned food or else!" He stormed off into the living room.

Josie stood frozen in the kitchen. She knew that they had been going through a rough patch, but she didn't think her mother would just abandon her with her father. She knew that if she didn't do something for supper, losing her mother wasn't the only thing she'd have to deal with tonight. She opened the fridge and grabbed the pork chops. She set to seasoning them and putting them in a pan. She then chopped up some potatoes and got them going. She set the table silently as tears streamed down her face.

* * *

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* * *

The rest of the school year flew by. Billy Fraser eventually eased up on Josie spending time with the Dawson family, especially when he started doing undercover assignments. This suited Josie just fine. She really enjoyed spending time with Gaby. Her mother had arranged to come and spend most of the summer with Josie. Billy hadn't been happy with the arrangement, but Josie didn't care. If she wasn't going to be allowed to go back to New Orleans, then she was going to get whatever time she got with her mother. She couldn't wait for Gaby and Antonio to meet her.

Josie checked the calendar and grinned. It was July 3 and her mother was coming in the next morning and Antonio had volunteered to drive Josie to the airport to pick her up. Today, she and Gaby were going to tidy the house and do some baking. What really made Josie's day was that her father had left a note saying he had to go undercover and wasn't sure for how long. He had arranged to have money left for her to get groceries and unofficially, the Dawsons were watching over her. She braided her hair into two pigtails and headed next door to see if Gaby was ready. She rang the doorbell and within seconds, Liliana Dawson answered the door with a big smiled. "Hola Señora Dawson."

"Hola, mija." She laughed. "Come in, Gabriela is just finishing her chores."

"Thank you for letting her come and help me." Josie was very sincere. She thought of the Dawsons as another family, except for Antonio... She had a huge crush on him.

"Anything for you, Josie. It's very special that your mama is coming to spend time with you." Liliana led her to the kitchen. "Come, I made some empanadas and I'd like for you to take some home with you."

"Gracias!" Josie had been picking up little bits and pieces of Spanish during her time spent with Gaby and Antonio. Granted, she had spent almost every chance she got with them.

"De nada, mija. Now, come... I suspect you didn't eat breakfast this morning."

Josie's cheeks burned. "No... I didn't."

"A young lady always needs to eat breakfast." Liliana chastised her. "Come, I make you a plate."

Josie couldn't say no. No one said 'no' to Liliana Dawson. She sat at the kitchen table and allowed Liliana to serve her some eggs with sausage and fresh tortillas. Eating here was heaven. She had taken the time to write down a lot of the recipes to practice at home. She didn't want to be one of those college kids who lived on ramen and pizza for four years. She was just beginning to eat when Antonio came in from the back yard. Josie had to make sure she didn't spit out her food when her jaw dropped. She hadn't seen him like this before.

He was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. He wasn't wearing a shirt and his jeans were riding really low on his hips. He washed his hands and then poured himself some orange juice from the fridge. "Hi Josie."

"Hi." Josie managed to get out. She prayed her cheeks weren't glowing red like the tomatoes Mrs. Dawson was chopping for a salsa.

"Mami, your tomato plants are pruned, fertilized and watered... as is the rest of the garden."

"Thank you, hijo." She smiled. "Come, eat. You're as bad as your father when it comes to working hard and not eating."

"Yes, mom." He got up and served himself. He kissed his mother's cheek as he walked by her. "Did you plant enough herbs to feed the whole neighbourhood?" He asked.

Liliana stopped chopping veggies and glared at her son. "No... just enough to share with Josie... and dry to last the winter."

"Ah." Antonio winked at Josie. "You will definitely have enough herbs."

Josie focused on her eggs. "Thank you so much, Señora Dawson."

Liliana went back to chopping some herbs to be tossed in with the tomatoes and onions that were occupying one bowl on the counter. "Josie, call me Liliana or Mami... Señora makes me feel old."

"Oh! Sorry, Se... Liliana."

"Much better." Liliana began to hum a tune while finishing her salsa.

"So, what are you and 'lil sis gonna get into today?" Antonio asked as he cleared his plate.

"She's... um... coming to help me tidy up the house and yard. Mama's coming for a while and... well..."

"I get it." Antonio smiled. "I can come over after a bit and maybe help prune that apple tree in your backyard, help with some of the rest of the yardwork... and you girls can focus on the house?"

"That would be awesome." Josie grinned.

"Alright." Antonio put his dishes in the sink. "It's a date. See you later." He grinned. "Later, Mami."

"Be good." Liliana smiled. She kissed his cheek. "Tell your brother to behave. I know he's not a police officer but he spends more time at that station getting ready for his law classes than anything."

"Si, Mami." Antonio said. "I will tell him after I shower and get to the district for that interview."

"Interview?" Josie asked.

Antonio turned back and cocked his head to the side. "I guess I forgot to tell you... I got an interview to be put at District 21 after graduation."

"Wow." Josie grinned. "Break a leg... not literally though."

"I got ya. See you later." He waved and jogged down the stairs to his room and bathroom to shower and change.

Josie picked up her plate and went to the sink. She began to wash her dishes and Antonio's.

"Mija, you don't have to do that." Liliana said. "I can do that."

"It's okay, Liliana... really. It was a delicious breakfast."

"De nada." Liliana replied. "I hope we will get to meet your mother... perhaps we can all have a meal together now that Tiago is back in Chicago as well. I think it's good that the family is all together again."

"Of course!" Josie exclaimed. "She'd love that. I would too."

"You practically live here." Gaby's voice came from the doorway. "Mami, is it okay that we go now?"

Liliana nodded. "Si. Now behave. If you girls need anything, you let me know."

"Te amo, Mami." Gaby hugged her mother. She grabbed Josie's arm. "Let's go."

"Gracias!" Josie shouted as Gaby almost dragged her out of the house.

They headed into Josie's kitchen and set to figuring out who was going to do what.

"So, Josie... uh... what's this thing you got going on with Antonio?"

Josie froze, almost dropping a bottle of Mr. Clean on the floor. "Whatta ya mean?"

"I mean... I see the way he looks at you... how you look at him... it's really obvious..."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Josie said, pulling more cleaning supplies out from under the sink.

Gaby spun Josie around to face her. "Jo... come on! I'm your best friend."

"And Antonio's your brother. I don't think he's into me... that way. Don't get me wrong... you're brother could be like the lead singer in a Latino version of the BSB or something... and yeah..."

"So you do like him!" Gaby shouted. "Oops... a little louder than I had meant to say that."

"I don't think the whole neighbourhood heard you, Gaby." Josie tossed a sponge at Gaby's head.

"What if he were into you?" Gaby asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Like, if he liked you the same way you like him."

"He's 20... I'm 17... he's gonna be a cop soon."

"Age is really an issue? My parents are almost 10 years apart."

"That's not what I mean." Josie sighed, leaning against the counter. "Would he really be into me? His little sister's best friend... who he probably sees as a dorky pain in the ass more than anything."

"You're not a pain in the ass... and I don't see you just as my baby sister's best friend." Antonio's voice came from the window.

Josie jumped and Gaby snickered. Antonio was standing at the kitchen window, in Josie's back yard. Josie regained her composure. "I thought you had an interview."

"I do. I just wanted to come ask if you girls needed me to bring anything on my way back... and I kinda overheard..."

"Just how much did you hear, bro?" Gaby was curious.

"I heard more or less... all of it." Antonio didn't take his eyes off of Josie.

"Oh my God! I'm... oh God." Josie began to hyperventilate. "I feel like a moron."

Antonio signalled to Gaby to unlock the back door. She signalled back that it was already unlocked. Antonio came in the house and pulled a bar stool from the counter and got Josie to sit on it. "Hey. You're not a moron... and so what if you're a little dorky. I like that about you." He lifted her chin. "You... Josie Fraser are something else entirely. Look, I like you... and I like you more than my sister's best friend. I'd like to take you out sometime... if you're cool with it."

Josie didn't know what to say or do. The guy of her dreams was asking her out. "Uh... I'd really like that." She was finally able to say. "A lot."

"Good. We can, uh... we can set a plan up after I come back. Don't go burning the house down, though." He grinned.

Gaby tossed a rag at him, which he ducked. "Just go. Last thing you need is a Sergeant that'll wanna have your head for being late."

"Good luck, Antonio." Josie said. "I mean it... and uh... if you happen to see my dad... just..."

"Don't worry, Josie. I ain't telling him nothing until he needs to know... and he don't need to know." Antonio gave her a quick peck on the cheek. "I needed that for luck. See you gals in a couple of hours. He took off the way he came.

Josie turned to Gaby. "What the hell just happened?"

"My brother asked you out and you said yes."

Josie couldn't help it. She squealed in glee. "Oh my God."

"Yep. Now, we gotta clean up... before he comes back... this way you can flirt a little more."

"Shut up, Gaby." Josie grabbed the bucket of sudsy water from the sink. "Let's just get going."

* * *

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* * *

Two hours later, all the windows were cleaned, the bathrooms were scrubbed and the bedding was washed and changed. They just had to tackle the floor next.

"So, you gonna tell your mom that Antonio's your boyfriend?" Gaby asked as she swept the floor in the dining room.

"Gaby... we haven't had a date yet... he just asked me." Josie sighed as she mopped the kitchen floor.

"Still... she'll know... hell... I'm pretty sure my mom knows."

"Your mom knows everything... come on, Gaby. I swear your mom's a psychic." Josie laughed.

"Very true." Gaby swept the dirt into the dustpan. "Well, the house is officially clean. Now what?"

"Well, I have to water the flowers... Antonio said he'd prune the apple tree."

"I could cut the lawn." Gaby said. "Where's the lawnmower?"

"I...uh... it's in the shed... and Dad took the key." Josie groaned.

The doorbell rang.

"Expecting anyone?" Gaby asked anxiously. They lived in Wicker Park. It was a quiet neighbourhood, but it definitely wasn't one of the safest ones in Chicago.

"No." Josie cautiously approached the front door and peaked through the peephole. She unlocked the door and swung it open. "Antonio! You scared the crap out of us!"

"Sorry." He blushed. "I just figured ringing the doorbell was better than spying through your kitchen window."

"True." Josie conceded.

"These are for you." He pulled a bouquet of daisies and Peruvian lilies from behind his back.

"Wow! Their gorgeous." Josie took them. "They smell amazing."

"Well, as long as I keep it up... I'm headed to 21 after I graduate." He grinned.

"That's amazing!" Josie instinctively wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. "Congratulations."

Antonio grinned. "Thanks. I'm really excited. It's one of the best Districts in Chicago to move up in the ranks." He looked down at her face. "You have a dust bunny in your hair." He snickered. He pulled the dust bunny off one of her pigtails. He then lean over a little and kissed her softly on the lips. "Thank you."

"For what?" Josie was dazed.

"Being my good luck charm."

"Eww!" Gaby exclaimed, interrupting their moment.

"Gaby!" Antonio groaned. "Thanks, sis... you ruined the moment."

Gaby shook her head. "I'm sorry... uh... I'll just go back to the kitchen."

Josie looked up at Antonio. "You're welcome... and uh... that was... umm."

"Your first kiss?" Antonio asked.

Josie nodded.

"Well, I'm glad I was the first." He leaned in. "Even if my sister ruined it." He thought to himself. _'I hope that I'm the only one that kisses you.'_

Josie blushed even more. "Let's go get these flowers some water."

Antonio took off his shoes and followed Josie to the kitchen.

"So, we have yard work left to do... and baking." Josie reminded Gaby. She was praying that Gaby wouldn't make a huge deal about Antonio kissing her.

"You girls worry about the kitchen stuff, I'll cut the lawn and do the other yard stuff." Antonio said as he pulled a case off the shelf that Josie pointed at and filled it with water.

"What's in it for you?" Gaby asked.

"I can maybe take Josie to dinner tonight." Antonio said.

Josie looked to Gaby. Gaby nodded eagerly. "That sounds like fun." Josie said.

"Good. You two make yourselves busy."

"My shed's locked, Antonio. Dad has the key." Josie mentioned. "You won't be able to get to the lawn stuff."

"I'll use ours. Don't worry about it." He winked at her and went next door to change and grab the equipment he needed.

"Yep. My brother's totally into you." Gaby grinned. "So what are we making?"

"Cuban chocolate cake?" Josie suggested pulling out the recipe book her mother had left her. "It's Mama's favourite."

"Works for me." Gaby said. "I'll pull ingredients and you pull equipment?"

Together they whipped together two Cuban chocolate cakes; one for Dixie when she came in and the other for the Dawson family as a thank you.

* * *

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* * *

Antonio was pruning the unnecessary branches from the apple tree while watching the girls through the kitchen window. Ever since Josie had come into their lives, he'd been developing feelings for her. He knew that he had almost 4 years on her and that she was just going to be graduating high school this coming school year, but there was just something about her. Something that made him want to drop everything and be with her. He shook his head. He was starting to sound like Tiago. Tiago was 23 now and he was busy in Law School. He had just gotten engaged to Rebecca Kincade, a teacher at Holy Trinity. The way Tiago talked about her drove Antonio nuts but he figured it had to be the real deal. It made Antonio wonder if Josie was the real deal for him. He threw the last branch to the side and went down the ladder. He turned back to the kitchen window. Josie was right in front of it. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was a vision. She was a little bit shorter than Gaby at about 5'6. She was curvy and he wasn't going to deny that she was well endowed. He watched her laugh. Gaby was obviously telling a joke... or regaling Josie in one of his stupid childhood stories. She had the tiniest gap between her two front teeth and she had the brightest smile. Her eyes were the most interesting colour. They were a deep greenish-blue and the violet-framed glasses she wore made them pop that much more. Her hair was a deep auburn colour and it shimmered in the summer sun. She had tiny freckles along the bridge of her nose. Antonio put the ladder away. He really did want to get to know her more. He also wanted to be with her as more than just a friend. He sighed. He'd dated girls in high school, but all they cared about was parties and looking good. Josie wasn't one of those girls. She had goals. She wanted a better future than what she currently had. Antonio only wished he could get her out of this house and away from Billy Fraser. While he may be her father, Antonio strongly suspected that he hurt Josie, and if not physically, it was definitely mentally. She was tough, but the way she cringed around that man made Antonio want to deck him. He set to cutting the lawn, praying that tonight would make Josie realize just how special and important she really was.

* * *

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* * *

"You know Antonio was just staring in here at you, right?" Gaby asked as she helped Josie ice one of the two cakes.

"So?"

"So... I think he might like you more than just 'like'."

"Gaby, that doesn't even make sense." Josie began to wash the baking pans.

"What if he were to ever tell you he loved you?"

"I don't know what I'd say. He treats me nicer than any other guy I've met."

"Better than your dad?" Gaby blurted out. She wished she could take it back.

"What do you mean by that?" Josie dropped the spatula she was washing back into the sudsy water.

Gaby gulped. "I just mean... look I've gotta be honest with you... you're dad is a mean son of a bitch who doesn't respect you or treat you the way he should."

Josie didn't know what to say. Gaby was right. She was scared of her dad. He would drink quite a bit, more since her mom had gone back to New Orleans. Then there was this new attitude he'd gotten since he had joined the Gang Unit at 21. He was scarier now. She'd make supper and then once they'd eaten, she'd go hide in her room. She would do school work or read. She wished she had a way to communicate more with Gaby. Part of her wished she could live with them instead of her dad. Maybe she could talk to her mom about that. "I know... there isn't much I can do about either. I guess it's part of the reason why they got divorced."

"I'm sorry, Josie. I really am." Gaby went around the counter and hugged her friend. "No one deserves this."

"It's life. I just gotta deal with it." Josie went back to washing the dishes. If her dad did come home, the last thing she wanted him to see was a pile of dirty dishes.

"Josie... I gotta ask... has he ever..."

"Hit me?" Josie knew where Gaby was going with this. "No. He's threatened it, but he's never actually hit me. After supper, I just go to my room. I don't spend too much time around him."

"Would you tell me if he ever did?"

Josie nodded. "Yeah. You're the only one. I don't know what you could do about it though."

Antonio poked his head through the patio door that led into the kitchen. "Who could do what?"

Gaby looked to Josie and mouthed. "You gotta tell him."

"Um..." Josie didn't want to go there with Antonio. Not before they'd had a chance to have a date.

"Jo... come on." He pried. Only he got away with calling her Jo.

"She asked if I'd tell her if my dad ever hurt me."

"And?"

Josie sighed. "I'd tell her... but there ain't much she can do about it. He's a Detective in the Gang Unit." She blurted. She quickly realized her mistake.

"He's in the Gang Unit?" Antonio had heard about their reputation. The picture was becoming a lot clearer.

Josie nodded. "I wasn't supposed to say anything. He doesn't want people to know."

"Hmph." Antonio crossed his arms over his bare chest. "He hurts you... he ever takes a swing at you... hell if he even threatens to do it... you come knock on my window. I'll keep you safe."

Josie felt a tear slide down her cheek. "You mean that?"

Antonio kicked off his shoes and carefully made his way to her. "Yeah. Even if I didn't like you the way I do, I would still protect you. You're not here to be his punching bag or carpet to walk all over." He brushed a stray strand of hair from her eyes. "Don't cry. Gaby and I will always protect you."

"Thank you." Josie whispered.

Antonio leaned in and kissed her forehead. "Always." He whispered back.

* * *

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* * *

Antonio was waiting outside Josie's house at around 8 the next morning. They didn't have to leave for O'Hare until 9, but he wanted to spend a little time with her before they left. He hadn't been able to sleep much. He was too anxious for today. He had been thankful to know that her dad hadn't come back. He called the district and found out he'd be there for a couple more days at least. He didn't want Billy Fraser to fuck up the time Josie was going to have with her mother. He took a deep breath and rang the doorbell. He could hear the pitter-patter of Josie's feet running for the door.

Josie opened the door in a hurry. She thought it might have been her dad who had come home early. "Antonio!" She gasped. "Did I oversleep? Is it 9 already?" She panicked.

"No, God! No. I just... I was hoping to spend a little time with you before we go pick up your mom." For the first time in his life, he could feel his cheeks burn. "We didn't really get to go out for supper last night like I had hoped."

Josie couldn't help but giggle. He had gone home to change after he had finished cutting the lawn, but Liliana caught him and asked what he was doing. That resulted in a family dinner instead of him taking her out. "It's fine, Antonio. We'll have time to go on a real date. School doesn't start until September. It's only July 4."

"I know. I was... I guess I was just really excited to spend some time alone with you... without Gaby there... or my parents."

"I'd like that. Here, come in. You can watch me finish getting ready." She stepped away from the door to let him in.

Antonio had spent a little time here, but most of the time, Josie was at their house. He remembered how she had described her house when they first met. He had to agree. It was like living in a hospital. Everything was white and there was no artwork or anything. It was stark compared to his house. He took off his shoes while Josie closed and locked the door.

"Um, you may as well follow me to my room. I'm not allowed to have my stuff in the bathroom."

Antonio scratched his head. "Isn't that where people get ready?"

"I can't use hair products, make up or perfume in there. Dad is... particular about that."

Antonio had other words to describe the psychosis of Billy Fraser. "Oh, okay. Are you okay with seeing your room?"

Josie shrugged. "It's clean. When I get dressed, you'll have to cover your eyes... or I'll go into the bathroom." She turned and led him up the narrow flight of stairs and into her room.

It was then that Antonio realized that Josie wasn't dressed yet. She was in a short nightgown and a short silk robe. She even had on bunny slippers. She was busy twisting her hair into sections. They arrived at the door of her room. To Antonio, it was like stepping into another universe. "Wow." He said.

"My mom... before she left... she insisted that my room was unique to me. That it didn't fall into the 'hospital' theme that my dad likes. So I designed it with her." She said proudly.

"It's definitely different." Antonio said. He knew that she was unique and this was just another testament to it. Her room was painted a bright blue on the bottom half of the walls while the top half was painted a soft yellow. It was bright, but not so bright you'd have to squint when the sun shone in. Her room definitely screamed her personality. One wall was a bookshelf. It was covered in a variety of books. Another wall had poster of The Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC and a few other boy bands that Antonio couldn't name, but he knew that Gaby listened to them too. Her bed was covered in a deep purple comforter and turquoise sheets. This was the Josie he wanted to see more of, but sadly under Billy's rule, it wasn't the Josie people got to know.

Josie sat back down in front of her mirror and quickly put loose curls in her hair. Once she was done, she unplugged the curling iron and set to doing her makeup. Antonio was in awe of how quickly she managed to do it. Josie looked up in the mirror. "What?" She asked.

"Uh..." Antonio didn't think he'd get caught staring. "I was just admiring you."

"Oh." She looked down and then back up. "Why?"

"Because of how fast you are. When Gaby gets ready it takes almost two hours."

Josie laughed. "I know. I don't believe in dragging it out." She grabbed some eyeliner and quickly applied it.

"Has anyone told you how beautiful you are?" Antonio asked before he could stop himself.

"No. You're the first." Josie smiled. "I do like you Antonio. I have since we met. I just always figured I was too young or because I was Gaby's friend..."

"None of that matters. I really do want to get to know the real you." He pointed around the room. "This you."

"Well, ask away... I'm gonna go get changed in the closet."

"Closet?" Antonio asked.

Josie opened her closet door. "It's big enough for me to change."

"Okay." Antonio leaned back on her bed.

Five minutes later, Josie emerged in a knee-length red gingham sundress and sandals. "What do you think?"

Antonio let out a low whistle. "Wow. I didn't realize I needed to dress fancy to meet your mom."

Josie tossed a small denim jacket at him. "Is it too much?"

He shook his head. "No. You look great. Come on. I'll take you to breakfast before we head to the airport." He helped her put the jacket on and led her down the stairs.

* * *

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* * *

Two hours later, they were standing at the arrival gate with a small bouquet of daisies from Liliana's garden for Dixie. It didn't take long for Antonio to pick her out of the crowd. Josie was a spitting image of her mother. Josie waved frantically to her mother. Dixie dropped her bags and ran to hug her daughter.

"Josephine!" She cried out.

"Mama!" Josie hugged her mother tightly. "I missed you."

"I missed you too, baby girl. You've grown a little." Dixie said as she pulled back. "You look amazing."

"How was your flight?"

"Long." Dixie sighed. She looked up and saw Antonio. "Who's that?"

Josie picked up her mother's bags and took her mom's hand. "He's someone I'd like you to meet. Come on."

Antonio took a deep breath and smiled as Josie and her mother approached him. Josie was beaming. "Mama, I'd like you to meet Antonio Dawson. He's my neighbour... He's also my best friend's big brother. Antonio, this is my mom, Evangeline Duplessis."

"Oh, your Gabriela's brother?" Dixie said excitedly. "I've heard so much about you and your family. Thank you for being so kind to Josephine and helping her. I know this had been so hard on her."

"Mama, it's Josie."

"I named you Josephine... but if you want me to call you Josie... I will." Dixie smiled. "Hi, Antonio. Please, call me Dixie."

"It's really nice to meet you, Dixie." Antonio extended his hand.

Dixie didn't shake his hand; she pulled him in for a tight hug. "Thank you for bringing my baby to pick me up."

"It was really no problem. Anything to help." Antonio picked up Dixie's suitcase and carryon. "The car's this way." Antonio walked ahead of them, giving them a little space so they could catch up.

"He's cute." Dixie whispered. "Do you like him?"

"Mama!" Josie knew her mom would catch on, but she had hoped that it would at least wait until they were at the house.

"Well, I'm not blind. I see how he looks at you. Do you like him?"

Josie nodded. "Yeah... he... he... um... he asked me to go for dinner with him last night. He said he'd like to get to know me... that I'm not just his sister's best friend."

"Well, did you go for dinner?"

"Not yet. His mom had me over for supper last night. Which reminds me... Liliana asked me to bring you over one night for supper."

"You call her Liliana?"

"She refuses to have me call her Señora or Mrs. Dawson." Josie pointed out.

"Ah. I see, well... maybe you should let him take you out tonight. I can unpack and rest a little bit."

"Mama, it's the 4th. We're not going to be going anywhere."

"Oh, right. I guess since I'm alone now, I tend to forget what day it is." Dixie whispered, as they were getting closer to Antonio and his car. "He drives a very nice car."

"I fixed it up with my dad throughout high school." Antonio said. "Um, I'm not really sure who wants to crawl in the back... these cars aren't exactly family friendly."

"I can crawl in the back." Dixie said, a little more excitedly than Josie had wanted. "Josie can sit up front."

Antonio looked to Josie. She just shrugged and pulled the seat forward to let her mother in. Antonio put the luggage in the trunk while Josie climbed in. He got in the car and put in gear. "So, Dixie... since Josie has been told all my horrible stories of childhood, could you give me some insight into what she was like when she was younger?"

"Mama, don't answer that... please." Josie pleaded.

Dixie took this opportunity to regale Antonio in some of the more embarrassing stories from Josie's childhood and Josie just stared out the window and tried to tune it out.

"Josie..." Antonio tried to get her attention.

"Josephine...Josephine!" Dixie exclaimed from the back seat.

"Huh?... What?" Josie looked around.

"You boyfriend has been trying to get your attention for the last 5 minutes."

"Boyfriend?" Josie looked to Antonio. "Um... Hi."

"Hi. We're here." He laughed.

"Oh! I must have dozed off." Josie blushed. "Well, welcome home, Mama."

"Thank you, darling."

Josie got out of the car and let her mom out. "I'll help Antonio get the bags. Uh, here's the key." She handed her mom the key and let her go to the house. She went to the back of the Camaro to help Antonio with the luggage. "I'm sorry about her."

"Why?" Antonio asked pulling the bigger suitcase out.

"Because, I told her you asked me to dinner... and now she's calling you my boyfriend..."

Antonio put his hand on her arm. "Jo, don't stress it. I don't mind. I've been called much worse things... plus, I don't mind being called your boyfriend."

Josie's eyes widened. "You don't?"

Antonio shook his head. "Nope. As long as I can call you my girlfriend." Josie's cheeks flooded with colour. "I'll take that as a yes?"

Josie nodded silently. Antonio laughed, grabbed the last suitcase and closed the trunk. Together they headed into the house. Once inside, Josie showed him to the guest room where her mom would be staying for the next few weeks. They put the luggage in the room and headed to the living room where Dixie was reclining on the sofa.

"Everything's put in your room, Mama." Josie smiled.

"Dixie, my mother asked my to invite the two of you over for dinner tonight." Antonio said.

"OH! I don't want to be a bother for your family, Antonio. You've already done so much for my baby."

"Mama, I think the invitation is more like an... well order. Liliana really wants to meet you... so does Gaby."

"And... it's not a bother either. Mama's been planning a big celebration supper for weeks... tonight is one night where everyone will actually be home. It's a celebration for my brother getting into law school and getting engaged... for Gaby and Josie entering Senior Year in a few weeks... and that I'll be graduating from the Academy in a month or so. Not to mention it's the 4th."

"Wow! That is definitely a lot to celebrate... well, I guess I can't so no. Josie's told me how amazing your mother's cooking is... and how much she's learned from her... I would love a home cooked meal. What time should we be over?"

"I'll come by and pick you up... well... walk you next door. Probably around 7."

"That sounds great. We'll see you then." Dixie grinned. "Thank you again for coming to pick me up."

"It's been a pleasure." Antonio went and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll see you later on."

"I'll walk you to the door." Josie grinned. She knew her mom was going to have a million questions about him and everything that had happened since June. She walked Antonio to the door. "Thanks again. It means a lot to me."

"Hey, if you're happy... I'm happy." Antonio put on his sneakers. "Enjoy some quality time with her and I'll be back around 7."

"Thanks, Antonio." She could feel her cheeks warming up again. She just went with her gut and hugged him.

Antonio hugged her back then lifted her chin. He kissed her lips. They tasted of the cherry cola Lipsmackers she always had on her. Josie's arms instinctively wrapped around his neck. Antonio could feel his blood surging. He had to regain his control and composure. He gently broke the kiss. "See you at 7, babe."

Josie nodded and watched him walk back to his house. She closed the door and leaned against it. Whatever had just happened had made her feel like she was on cloud nine. She went back to her mother and prepared herself for 20 questions.

Right at 7, the doorbell rang. Josie ran to answer the door. Antonio was there with a large bouquet of flowers. "For you." He grinned. "I didn't know which one was your favourite, so I got a mix."

Josie gratefully took them and inhaled their perfume deeply. "Wow. They're beautiful. Thank you."

"Anything for my girl." He kissed her cheek. "Is your mom ready?"

Josie nodded. "She's just finishing her hair. Come with me to put these in a vase?"

He cocked his head to one side. "Can't reach the vases?"

Josie blushed. "Yeah. Something like that."

Dixie was coming down the stairs as they headed to the kitchen. She just stood back and observed. Her little girl was growing up. She may not like the idea that her baby was just 17 and dating a guy that was almost 4 years older than her, but at least he respected her and cared about her. He was going to be a cop. She sighed. She knew most women got together with men who were like their fathers. Josie was following that pattern by falling for a cop. _'At least he doesn't behave like her father.'_ She thought to herself. She waited for them to come back. They were laughing about something. "What's so funny?" She asked.

"I was just telling Josie about my mom's idea for a small supper... it took her all day to cook it, and even though we'll still be about 8 people, there's enough there to feed half of Chicago."

"I told Antonio we'd be eating leftovers for the next few days." Josie added. "You ready, Mama?"

Dixie nodded. "Sure. Let's go. I'm starved."

Antonio looped both their arms through his and they walked over to the Dawson house.

* * *

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* * *

 ** _September 1997_**

Josie was sad that the summer had flown by. Her mother's visit had been the highlight. They'd done a lot of things together. Dixie had insisted on buying Josie's school supplies and new clothes before heading back to New Orleans. Billy hadn't been around much, which was just fine for her. She was basically taking care of herself, and she was rarely at their house anymore. She spent many nights sleeping at the Dawsons' because when Billy was home, he was drunk. She didn't want to see that. At least with them, she was safe. Antonio was graduating from the Academy at the end of the month. She was excited because he had invited her to the ceremony with his family and to be his date for the ball. She had asked him to come with her to Homecoming. He had agreed which had made her day. Dixie had left money for to go buy a new dress. That was the plan for the first weekend after school started. Gaby and Liliana would be taking her. She was excited. She had a great boyfriend and an amazing best friend. Nothing her father could do would take that happiness away from her. She was pinning up her hair when the doorbell rang. Billy wasn't home so she went to see who it was.

"Hey baby." Antonio greeted her with a quick kiss. "You ready for your first day?"

Josie nodded. "Totally. I'm still not used to this uniform thing though." She tugged at the skirt of her uniform. "I feel weird."

"You look great." He pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "So, shall we?"

"Let me just grab my bag." She reached around the door and grabbed her new school bag and house keys. She set the new alarm system and locked the door. "Where's Gaby?"

"She's... uh... Papi is driving her to school today."

"Why? We used to ride in your car all the time." Josie said.

Antonio grinned. "She wanted to let me drive you today... we'll carpool again tomorrow. I guess she just doesn't want to interfere or something."

"Ah. Well, I'm ready when you are." Josie took his hand.

They chatted the whole way to school. It only was about 10 minutes from their houses to Holy Trinity. They pulled up to the school. Antonio took her hand. "Don't get into too much trouble with Gaby today. I won't be able to come rescue you."

Josie kissed his cheek. "I promise. Will you be able to come over tonight for supper?"

"Are you cooking?"

Josie arched an eyebrow. "After all the lessons your mom's been giving me, you're asking if I'm cooking?"

Antonio threw his hands up in defense. "Sorry. Sure. I'm done at the Academy by 5. I can be there for 6?"

"Sounds great. Maybe, we can talk about Homecoming and your graduation from the Academy?"

"Sounds like a plan to me... is your dad gonna be there?"

Josie shook her head. "He called yesterday. He's undercover again. He probably won't be home for a week... if not longer."

"Okay. I just... I don't want him to know about us... not yet."

"If I had my way, he'd never find out."

"Well... Get going... Mr. Kelly is going to be pissed if you're late." He kissed her. "Have a great day, baby."

"You too." Josie grabbed her bag and got out of the car. She headed to where Gaby was waiting for her.

Antonio waited for her to meet up with Gaby before taking off. He had a plan for them. He just needed to get everything in order. She was everything to him. He had talked to Dixie about his plan, and she'd given him the okay. He just needed to get to December. He saw Gaby hugged Josie. He put the car in gear and headed off to the Academy.

"What was that all about?" Gaby asked when Josie reached her.

"We were talking."

"And kissing." Gaby pointed out.

"Seriously?" Josie poked Gaby in the ribs.

"I swear... each day... you're getting closer to being my sister."

"I'm 17, Gaby. I don't think Antonio is gonna pop the question yet."

"Why not?"

"Because, he's 21 next month. I think there are laws against that kinda thing."

"He'd wait until your legal to get married. Doesn't mean he can't ask you to marry him."

"Come on. Walker will be pissed if we're late for the first day." Josie grabbed Gaby's hand. "I'm not gonna be stuck being one of the crappy roles in Hamlet either."

Gaby laughed as they ran up the steps of the school and headed to their Lit class.

At the end of the school day, the two friends headed to the bus stop to go discuss what kind of dresses they wanted for homecoming. Gaby helped Josie get some of the prep for supper done. While Liliana had taught Josie many Dominican and Latino recipes, she wanted to make something more Cajun tonight.

"Just remember, Antonio is allergic to shellfish."

"Despite me being a good New Orleans girl, I can't eat them either." Josie snickered. "I'm thinking gumbo."

"Very nice. Do you have the Andouille sausage?"

"Mama had some shipped to me. It's the real deal. She also sent me the herbs and spices I need."

"Sweet. So where do we start?" Gaby grabbed a knife and cutting board.

She helped Josie prep the veggies, or as Josie called them 'The Holy Trinity'. Josie got the rice started. Once the gumbo got going, it was time for Gaby to get going.

Gaby headed home around 5. It gave Josie time to tidy up before Antonio showed up. She set the table and put out the nicer dishes. She made some fresh lemonade and added some Sprite to make it fizz. At 6, the doorbell rang and she quickly checked her appearance before answering the door. Antonio was there with a huge grin on his face. She kissed him. "Right on time."

"Smells great... but it definitely ain't one of Mami's recipes."

Josie closed and locked the door. "No. It's one of my grandma's. Mama left me her cookbook before she headed back to Louisiana. It's chicken gumbo."

"Smells delicious. Let's eat."

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* * *

They had come to conflict of events. Antonio's graduation was the same day as Homecoming. He had told her they could do his ceremony and then do her dance. Josie had talked it over with Gaby and they'd both decided that Homecoming was overrated. From what they had heard, it wasn't going to be their scene anyhow. So they would solely be going to Antonio's graduation and then Josie would accompany him to the ball. They had gotten their dresses and they had begun their planning. It wasn't long before that weekend was here. Josie got up early to start getting ready. She was doing her makeup and then Gaby was going to pop over and do her hair. Half of her hair was going to be pulled back while the rest was in loose curls. She was excited. This was a big deal. She felt giddy. She was starting to think that Gaby may have a point. Maybe Antonio did have bigger plans for them. They'd been seeing each other for a couple months now. He was into everything she was doing. He genuinely cared for her. She was starting to feel as if she could say that one little four-letter word, but she was scared she'd scare him off. She finally felt like a normal person.

Gaby soon arrived and did her hair. Once that was done, they helped each other into their respective dresses. Gaby's dress was a navy blue with a cream coloured underskirt. It had cream coloured embroidery down each side of the slit. Josie's dress was a lilac hi-lo skirt with a halter neck. The bust was empire wait with beads and sequins covering it. There was a thin brooch that had a narrow piece of lilac organza that flowed down the middle of the dress. It was a little more than what she had thought of, but when she had tried it on, Gaby and Liliana had told her it was the one. Once the girls were ready, they headed back to Gaby's.

Josie had to catch her breath when she saw Antonio. He looked very dashing in his uniform. He broke into a huge smile the instant she walked into their living room.

"Wow, Josie... you look beautiful." He kissed her cheek. "Just. Wow."

"You look pretty handsome yourself, Antonio."

"I got you something." He said. He turned and grabbed something from the counter behind him. "Here. You need this." He pulled out a corsage made of orchids. "Gaby only told me the colour of your dress. I knew I needed to get you this... and I got you something else."

"Antonio, you didn't have to. You're spoiling me." Josie whispered.

"You deserve to be spoiled, Jo. It's part of us being in a relationship." He pulled out a small jewellery box. "We've been dating almost three months... and I don't want to be with anyone but you. So... I got you two things... the first..." He opened the box. "Is this."

In the box was a beautiful heart shaped pendant on a fine white gold chain. The heart was made up of intertwined stones of alexandrite and opals, their respective birthstones. "Antonio!" Josie gasped. "It's beautiful!"

Antonio carefully lifted it out of the box. "Read the inscription."

Josie took the necklace and turned the heart pendant over. Engraved on the back was _'Te amo. A+J'_

"Antonio." She whispered.

Antonio took the pendant and put it on. "There. Beautiful. Like you."

"Antonio... the inscription..."

"It reads, 'I love you'." He answered. "And, I do. I do love you, Josie." He bent down and kissed her. "You mean the world to me, Jo."

"Antonio... I love you too." She was barely able to breathe. "I've been wanting to say it for a while now, but... I was scared."

He kissed her again, this time with a little more fire. "Don't be scared. I'm never leaving you." He took her hand. "In time, I'm gonna do this the right way, but for now..." He pulled off his high school ring. "I'm gonna give this to you as a promise ring."

Josie felt a tear slide down her cheek. "Antonio."

"I mean it, Jo. Nothing will take this... what we have... away from us. I'll wait as long as I have to."

"I... I don't know what to say."

"Say you'll wear my ring."

"I will."

He slid the ring onto her finger. "It's a little big... I guess... I'll get it sized for you, but for now... it'll fit your middle finger."

Josie laughed. "We're going to be late."

"No... we're gonna make it. So, Tiago and Rebecca are already there... Mami, Gaby and Papi headed out... so we are going in my car."

"Is it weird that you're like one of the youngest to graduate from the Academy?" Josie asked.

"I should be asking you the same thing." Antonio smiled. "Come on. Let's get going."

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 _ **A/N: Ch. 2 is coming very soon. I had originally planned to do a prologue... but it was almost 25000 words. I had to break it up. Let me know what you think!**_


	2. Lost In This Moment

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The ceremony had been amazing. Antonio had graduated at the top of his class. Josie was really proud of him. He was going to do amazing things in the Chicago Police Department. She knew it. She sighed. She wasn't thrilled that he'd be working in the same District as her father, but the likelihood of them working together was slim to none. Antonio was going to be on patrol and her dad was in the Gang unit. They'd rarely intersect. Considering everything that had just happened today, the last thing Josie wanted was for her dad to find out that she was with Antonio. After the ceremony and the pictures, Josie and the Dawsons headed to the banquet and ball. She was most likely the youngest person there, but she was still treated with utmost respect. Antonio introduced her as his girlfriend to everyone they spoke to. Nobody was batting an eye at their age difference. This was giving Josie more hope for their relationship. They danced the night away and laughed at each other's jokes.

It was almost 2 when they decided to call it a night. Antonio helped her to his car. There was a light mist falling that night, so Josie was wearing his jacket to keep warm. She loved that it had his scent. She held his hand while they drove. They pulled up into her driveway, as was his habit. He would move his car after she got in the house safely.

"Your dad's not home." Antonio pointed out.

Josie noticed that the Jeep wasn't there. "Fine by me. He'd probably be pissed that I was home this late." She pointed to his watch. "Thank you for an amazing night."

"No, Jo. Thank you." He leaned over and kissed her, cupping her face. "I love you, Josie... don't you ever forget that."

"I won't." Josie was glowing. "Here, take your coat. If my dad sees that I have it, he will do something. He doesn't know about us... and we both know that it's better that way."

"I know, baby." He kissed her again. "I'll come by later this week to visit. Otherwise, I'll see you when you come over with Gaby?"

Josie nodded. "Yeah. Sweet dreams, Antonio."

"Only of you." He whispered.

Josie got out of the car and headed to the house. She waved to Antonio as she went in. He took that as the sign that she was safe and he headed back to his house. Josie carefully took her shoes off and headed to her room. She knew that while the Jeep wasn't there, it didn't mean that her father wasn't home. It's why she didn't want Antonio to walk her to the house this time. She headed up to her room. She was in the middle of taking off her makeup when there was large crashing coming from the living room. She wrapped her robe tightly around herself and went to investigate.

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She quietly went down the stairs. That's when she saw her father crashing around. He was drunk off his gourd, as was the usual with him lately. She was about to turn around to go back to her room when he father bellowed at her. Josie tried to run, but he came after her. He grabbed her ankle and yanked it. Josie tumbled down the stairs. She cried out as she hit her shoulders and back on the stairs. "Daddy! Stop!" She shouted. She was suddenly wishing she hadn't come down the stairs.

"Where've you been, huh? You little tramp!" He growled. "I came home... no supper made... you gone... the neighbours were gone. Who the fuck are you screwing?!"

"I'm not screwing anyone!" Josie threw her arms up to protect herself. "Daddy... you're not making any sense."

"Bullshit." He wrapped his one hand around her throat. "You're exactly like you mother." He slowly tightened his grip. "You're gonna up and leave me like that whore."

Josie kicked and swung around. It wasn't working. Her father was too drunk and too strong for her to fight off. She looked around her and saw the baseball bat that her father kept close to the door each night in case someone tried to break in. She reached for it and finally was able to grab it. She used all the strength she had in her body and swung the bat down. There was a sickening crack and his body went limp. She didn't know if she'd killed him or not, but she was getting out of there. She coughed as she ran out of the front door. She knew that almost everyone next door would be asleep, but she could see the light on in the basement. That was Antonio. He was still awake. She ran through the pouring rain and slid through the lawn. She fell a couple times but kept going. If she hadn't killed him, her father would be royally pissed when he came to. She arrived to Antonio's bedroom window. She could see him tuning his guitar. She pounded on his window and prayed that he would look up.

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Antonio was deep in thought about the song he was working on when he heard loud pounding on his window. He turned around and looked up. Josie was pounding on the window. Her face was covered in mud and she looked terrified. He dropped his guitar on the bed and ran to the window. He could see the fear in her eyes and tears streaming through the mud on her face. He signalled to the back door and ran to meet her. He bolted to the basement walkout door and unlocked it. The instant it opened, Josie threw herself into his arms and sobbed. Antonio pulled her in tightly and looked outside. There was no one there, so he closed and locked the door. "Josie, baby... are you hurt?" Josie shook her head and then nodded. Antonio was livid. He had an idea of what had happened. He wasn't going to make her walk to his room. He saw how she had limped to get to the door. He lifted her into his arms and carried her to his room. "Okay, hold on. I'm gonna sit you down here, and I'm gonna tidy off the bed. I wanna look you over... then we're calling the cops."

Josie cried out. "NO!"

"Jo, come on. Your dad did this... he needs to be dealt with."

"They're all buddies with him. They'll defend him... cover up for him." She was hyperventilating.

"Okay, okay. I won't call them... yet. But you have to calm down."

Josie nodded.

"Okay, good. I'm gonna grab some towels to help get some of this mud off and see what we're dealing with. If you're badly hurt, I'm going to have to take you to a hospital."

"I can live with that." Josie nodded. She carefully pulled off her robe.

Antonio went to grab towels and the first aid kit he kept in the bathroom. He went back to his room. Josie was still crying. He grabbed some tissues and wiped the tears away. "Babe, can you tell me what happened?"

She sniffled and took a pre-offered tissue and blew her nose. "Yeah. Um... so I was taking off my makeup... I heard a bunch of ruckus coming from the living room. I went to see... I shouldn't have... but I did. Dad was there... He was drunk... he was tossing the place. I don't know why, so I headed back to my room. The stairs creaked, so he came after me. I tried to run, but he grabbed my ankle and pulled me down the stairs. I banged my back and shoulders pretty badly. He called me a whore... told me I was trying to leave like Mama did. He... he... tried to strangle me. I tried to fight..." She broke down and began to bawl. "I couldn't... he was too strong. I was blacking out... and I saw the bat... I just grabbed it and swung. I hit him. He collapsed. Not sure if he's dead or I just knocked him out... I don't care. I'm not going back." She was shaking.

Antonio, not giving a damn about the mud that covered his girlfriend, pulled her in. "Jo, I'm not gonna let him hurt you again."

"How... how can you protect me? He's..."

"I'm not letting you out of my sight. If I can't call the cops, I'll call your mom. She's gotta be able to help us somehow."

"Antonio... can I get this mud... and blood off?" She pointed to her knees and elbows.

He nodded. Calling Dixie would have to wait. "I'll help you to the shower." He helped her up. He had to really support her when her knees buckled under her. "Okay, I'm gonna carry you there. Did you twist your ankle?"

"Probably. It's pouring buckets out there." She sighed. She nuzzled into his shoulder. "You're really warm."

He shook his head. "No, you're freezing. You ran outside in a September rain storm... in next to nothing. We'll be lucky if you don't catch pneumonia."

"I'm wearing pyjamas." She looked around as they passed the kitchen. "I didn't realize you had a suite down here."

"Mami and Papi had it built for Tiago originally, but since he's in Law School, planning a wedding, and living with his fiancée, they offered it to me instead. So I live here, but eat with them most nights."

"So they don't come down here?"

"Not usually. Which is probably a good thing right now. I have no idea how to explain this to them." Antonio kicked the bathroom door open and used his elbow to turn the light on. "So, can you stand on your own to shower?"

"I doubt it... look." She lifted her left leg.

Antonio looked at it. Her ankle was swollen and even through the mud, he could see the bruising. She'd sprained it good. "I'm not sure how I'm supposed to help you here... if you can't stand... I don't got a tub..."

"Come with me." She whispered.

"Jo... not sure that's the best idea." He knew what could happen if he got in that shower with her.

"Antonio... I want to be clean... and I can't stand." She begged him.

"Okay." He sat her on the lid of the toilet. "I'm gonna grab something for you to change into. I'm gonna get that clothes washed for you too. Just stay here. Okay."

"I can't really go anywhere, Antonio."

"I know. Habit." He kissed her forehead and went to grab some of his clothes for her to change into. He pulled out one of his baggier T-Shirts and pulled one of his pairs of sweats. They would be huge on her, but it was better than having her running around his place naked. He went back to the bathroom. "So, this is going to be huge on you, but at least it's clothes." He put the clothes and towel on the counter and turned the water on in the shower. "Let's get you out of these muddy clothes. Lean into me." He helped her up. "Let's start with the top."

Josie, leaning on Antonio, raised her arms. Antonio pulled the tank top she had on off. He focused on his breathing. Now was not the time to let his hormones go out of control. "How's the shoulder?"

"It hurts like a bitch." She said as she put her arms back down.

Antonio noticed she made no efforts to cover herself. "Let me see your back." Josie leaned into him for him to look closer at her back. He could see the bruises from the stairs developing on her back. She was going to be in pain for the next little bit. "Okay, let's get you back down."

"How bad is it?" She asked as she sat back on the toilet cover.

"You're gonna hurt like hell. The bruising's already coming out."

"I guess I'm not going swimming any time soon." Josie laughed softly. "Oh, my ribs hurt."

"They would after that." Antonio said. "Okay, time to get you out of these." He pulled her shorts and underwear off. "Okay, the water should be warm enough." He helped her up and slid the shower door open. He was probably going to be more uncomfortable than her, but he had to get in there with her. "One step in." He helped her get her injured foot in and then stepped in after her. He slid he door closed. "Okay. I'm gonna grab the shampoo behind you and wash you hair. Just lean into me."

"Antonio... you're all wet... and you're wearing clothes."

"I'll live." He said squirting a little shampoo into his hand. He massaged the shampoo into her hair. "I'm more worried about you right now."

"That feels good." She moaned. "I like that a lot."

Antonio laughed. "I'm glad I can help. Tilt your head back and I'll give you a good rinse." He rinsed his hands and then rinsed out her hair. "I'd put in conditioner, but I don't got any."

"You have something to get rid of the dirt... it's gross."

"Yeah, as long as you're okay with smelling like Irish Spring."

"I don't care." Josie whispered. "I just want the mud off of me."

Antonio took the face cloth and the soap and began to wash the mud and blood off her body. Her body was soft and curvy. She was as voluptuous as he had thought. He also took note that she kept herself smooth all over. It took every ounce of self-control in his body to not want to take her right there. They hadn't talked about that part of their relationship yet. He wasn't going to force her to do anything either. It didn't help that she was only 17 and he was going to be 21 in October. He grabbed the showerhead and rinsed Josie off. Josie moaned as the hot water ran down her body. Antonio had to fight the blood surging through his body at that sound. Josie held onto Antonio's strong arms as he rinsed the soap off her back and legs. She may have been naïve in how relationships worked but she definitely knew that Antonio was dealing with more than just her injuries right now. She was pressed right into him. She could feel the bulge that was growing below his waist. She was thankful the water was hot, it gave her an excuse for the red cheeks she must've had by this point.

"You've got soap all over you." She whispered hoarsely.

"I know. I'll wash off after I get you seated and towelled off."

"No, Antonio... I can lean on you... while you rinse off."

"Baby, you okay?"

She looked up into his eyes. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"Your voice is different."

"Um... well... I may be injured but I can uh... feel..." She didn't realize what she was doing, but her hand slid down from his shoulders, past his chest to the bulge that was very noticeable.

"Jo..." He gasped as her touch sent a jolt through his body. "Babe, we haven't talked about that yet..."

"I know... just... I'm sorry." Josie pulled her arm back.

"Jo... I didn't mean that. It's... I don't want to take advantage of you. You're 17... I can wait."

"Antonio... you're human. I get how biology works."

"Baby... it's not something... to take lightly." He had to fight back his primal urges. He wasn't a virgin by far, but he wasn't about to ravage her to take her virginity.

"Oh." Josie hadn't taken that into consideration. "I'm of legal age of consent."

"That's not the point." Antonio groaned. "I want to... I won't lie... but right now, you're hurt... and I can't just take that."

"Then we'll talk about it." Josie said, gently stroking his cheek. "You said we weren't going anywhere and nothing would break us apart. So, we talk about this stuff."

"If you insist. We'll talk. Now let's dry off and then we'll get some ice on your ankle." He turned off the tap and slid the door open. Somehow, he managed to keep his balance and grabbed the towel from the counter. "Here." He wrapped her in the oversized bath towel and helped her to sit back down. Then he stepped back into the shower and quickly rinsed himself off with cold water in hopes to calm his raging hormones. Then he stripped his soaked clothing off and wrung them out. He poked his head out. "Can you hand me the towel from the rod?"

Josie grabbed the aforementioned towel and handed it to him. She watched as he wrapped himself in it. She knew she hadn't been imagining his size as she caught a glimpse of him fully naked. She turned her glance away. She didn't want him to catch her staring. Once he was wrapped, he got out of the shower and tossed his wet clothes into the hamper that was by the door. He gently picked her up and carried her back to his bedroom. He laid her on the bed gently and padded to the kitchen to get some ice from the fridge. He couldn't find his icepack so he grabbed the bag of frozen peas and a dishtowel. He wrapped the towel around the peas and headed back to his room. "Here." He lifted her ankle and put a couple pillows under it and then rearranged his pillows so she could recline on them. He then put the peas on her swollen ankle.

"Oh! That's cold."

"It'll help with the swelling." Antonio moved up the bed to be closer to her. He wrapped his arm around her. "Once that's been on for about 15 minutes, I'll take it off and we can get you into that spare clothes."

"Your parents aren't going to be suspicious about all this racket?"

"They don't hear anything that's going on down here. It's a good arrangement. I just wish I could hide you here until you were 18. Then you would never have to see that monster again."

"He'd still try to run my life." Josie sighed. "I don't know what's gotten into him. He's been getting worse since he got into that Gang Unit."

"They don't necessarily have the best rep, Jo. I've heard stories... and I'm not even on the job yet."

"When do you report for your first shift?" She asked.

"Next week. I asked to start a week later to work some stuff out here."

"What kinda stuff?"

"The stuff where I can guarantee my girlfriend is safe. The stuff that will one day allow us to live our lives without being constantly looking over our shoulders for your dad."

"Sounds like a plan." She nuzzled into him. "You smell good."

"So do you." He kissed her forehead. "How are you feeling now?"

"Better." She admitted. "The ice is helping."

"Maybe I should get you some Advil or something. It should help with the pain."

"You sure you're not a doctor in disguise?"

Antonio shook his head. "No. Just did enough first aid courses over the years. Be right back." He got off the bed and went to his medicine cabinet. He took two Advil and grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. He was going to deal with this, but only after Josie was asleep. He went back to his room and handed her the medication. He then quickly grabbed her muddy clothes and his soaked clothes and tossed them in the washer and set it on a quick cycle.

"Antonio?" Josie called.

"Coming." He called back. He really wanted to call the cops, but he knew Josie was right. They would just cover for her dad. It was a perk of him being a Detective in the Gang Unit. He was pissed. He punched the punching bag that hung near the washer before turning back to go see what Josie needed. "Yeah, baby?"

"You said we'd talk."

"I was also kinda hoping you'd forget about that." He answered her.

"Antonio. I'm not a prude."

"I know that, Jo. I also know how big of a deal it is to have..."

"Antonio, you're worried about my virginity? Don't be. I'm old enough to make that decision for myself."

"I know. Josie, trust me, I know. And if you had suggested that to me a year ago, I would've jumped at the chance to be intimate with a girl like you... but now... I love you. I don't want you to make this decision hastily... it's not something you can take back."

"Antonio." Josie reached for his hand. "I'm not making this decision lightly... or hastily for that matter. I just want to talk about it. It's almost as if you're avoiding the subject."

"Can I be honest with you?"

"Always. I prefer my men being honest over lying assholes." Josie said.

"I regret my first time. I regret not waiting... I regret not being in it for the relationship."

"How old were you?"

"16."

"How old was she?"

"We were both 16."

"Was she your girlfriend?"

"It wasn't like that... and that's the problem." Antonio sighed. "I wanted to be like the other guys on the boxing team. They'd all gotten laid and it's all they talked about."

"So, because you wanted to fit in..."

"I gave it to the first girl who was willing to... and she sure as hell wasn't a virgin. It's why I don't want to pressure you... and I hope no one is pressuring you from the outside."

Josie pulled him to her and kissed him. "Antonio... I'm not being pressured by anyone. I wouldn't do anything I didn't want to. I saw how your body reacted... I felt it. I want you to know... my body was doing the exact same thing. Is that why you went back into ice cold water after you got me out?"

Antonio nodded. "Yeah. I don't want to hurt you more than you already are."

"My ankle is a long way away from there."

"Okay... I make you a deal."

"Shoot." Josie batted her eyes at him.

"The next time the mood strikes... and you're ready... then... and only then, will I make love to you."

"Deal." She extended her hand.

He shook it but then kissed her deeply. "Now, I'm gonna put this ice away and check on the clothes. You... are going to rest."

"Aye aye." She mock saluted him.

"Oh, Josie." He laughed. He took the bag of peas and went to the kitchen. He changed the laundry around and headed back to his room. When he got there, Josie was looking at his baby album. "Where'd you find that?"

"In this drawer." She pointed to his nightstand. "You were really cute." She yawned, then covered her mouth. "Oops. Sorry."

"It's almost 4 am... you should get some sleep."

"What about you?"

"I'll sleep once I wind down. I'm still too mad."

"Will you at least stay with me?" She asked.

"If that's what you want. I'm just as comfortable on the couch as I am here."

"Please, stay."

"Okay. First, let's ditch this wet towel and get you into a shirt." He helped her reposition on the bed. He gently pulled the towel away and tossed it onto a pile of clothes. He pulled his shirt out on and helped her get it on. The shirt went to her mid-thigh. "Do you want the sweats too?"

Josie shook her head. "This is enough. Are you sleeping in a wet towel?"

Antonio looked down. "Uh, no. I'll put some boxers on." He caught the hint of smile on her lips. "No peeking."

"But..."

He tried to look at her sternly, but couldn't keep a straight face. "Whatever." He laughed. He went to his dresser and pulled out a pair of boxer briefs. He dropped the towel that had hung loosely on his hips. He kept his back to her.

Josie wasn't going to complain. Antonio's body was muscular. His waist and hips were narrow. His butt was tight and round. She forced herself to close her mouth. She caught a quick glimpse of the rest of him as he pulled on his underwear. She knew that when it came to that time, he was going to have to be gentle. He wasn't small.

"Better?" He asked as he turned around.

"Much." She grinned. She patted the bed next to her.

Antonio got on the bed and pulled the blankets over them. He pulled Josie closer, mindful of her ankle, and kissed her forehead. "Get some sleep."

"Mhm." She mumbled as she laid her head on his chest. It was a matter of minutes before she was sound asleep.

Antonio just held her. His brain was going a mile a minute. He wanted to go over there and kill Billy Fraser. He wanted to find a cop who wasn't corrupt who would do something about him. He wanted to have her stay with her for the rest of her life, safe and sound. When he knew she was in a deep sleep, he gently put her on the pillows and quietly got out of bed. He pulled on a T-shirt and a pair of sweats. He was going to go and deal with this. He snuck out the door and headed to Josie's house.

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The door to Josie's house was closed, but it wasn't locked and the alarm wasn't set. Antonio looked around. He saw the mess that Billy had made. He looked to the stairs and in the faint light he could make out the silhouette of a man crumpled at the bottom. He carefully walked over to the slumped figure and check to see if he was breathing. Billy Fraser was still alive and Antonio could smell the alcohol on him. "Fucking drunk." He muttered. He picked Billy up off the floor and dragged him to the living room. There he put him on one of the chairs. He went to the hall closet and found a scarf. It would have to do. He tied it as tightly as he could around the unconscious man. Once he was tied up, Antonio went to grab some ice-cold water. He tossed the water on Billy. Billy jolted awake.

"Who? What? Who are you?" Billy bellowed.

Antonio tried his best to disguise his voice. "Doesn't matter. All that matters is I know what you put your daughter through, you son of a bitch." Antonio didn't even realize what he was doing until it was too late. He threw a hard right cross to Billy's jaw. He heard a sickening crunch. Billy cried out in pain. Antonio then swung a left hook. By this point, blood was gushing from Billy's nose and Antonio could see he'd busted Billy's lip open. He stopped. "You ever... ever lay a hand on that girl again, and there's no one in this world who can cover for you or protect you. Do you understand me?"

Billy nodded weakly, coughing up some blood. "Who are you?"

"Who I am doesn't matter. All that matters is you let Josephine live her life the way she wants and you stay the fuck away from her. You don't... and next time... I'm bringing some friends... and you will be done." Antonio threw one last punch, knocking Billy out cold. He undid the scarf and took it with him. He wiped away any trace he may have left and head back to his house. He closed the door behind him and prayed that Josie would still be asleep.

When he got back to his suite, he washed his hands and hid the scarf. He tossed his now bloody shirt and pants into the washer and set it to wash. He took Josie's clothes from the dryer and put them in a nice pile on his dresser. She was still sound asleep, her auburn locks framing her face. Even with the bruises that were forming, she looked like an angel. He climbed back into bed and held her tightly. He wasn't going to let go. Not now, not ever.

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The sun beamed through his bedroom window. Antonio groaned. He looked at the clock. It was almost 8. Normally, he'd be at the Academy, the gym or work by now, but today was definitely not normal. He looked next to him. Josie was still sound asleep. He kissed her cheek and quickly went to see if there was any ruckus going on next door. There weren't any cops there and Billy hadn't come pounding on his door yet. He suspected his parents or Gaby might get suspicious if he didn't come upstairs soon, but he didn't care anymore. He was exhausted. He crawled back into bed and snuggled next to Josie. He smiled when she moaned his name in her sleep. At least she was dreaming about him. He pulled on the cord for the blinds and his room got a little bit darker. He closed his eyes and dozed off again.

"Oh my God!" Gaby's voice jolted Antonio awake. "Antonio!"

"Gaby?" He rubbed his eyes. "Gaby!" He tried to sit up in bed but Josie's body held him down.

"Antono... what the fuck?!" She screeched as she pointed to Josie. "You... did you sleep with her?"

"Sleep. Gaby. That's all we did."

"So you didn't hook up with my best friend?" Gaby put her hands on her hips.

Josie began to stir. "What's with all the noise?" She yawned but winced as she tried to stretch. "Woah... uh... hi Gaby."

"Hi Josie... care to explain why you're wearing my brother's shirt and you're in bed with him... at noon?"

Josie looked to Antonio's nightstand. "Shit. My dad's going to be pissed."

"You're not going back there." Antonio held her back. "Not after last night."

Gaby leaned against the doorjamb. Antonio was acting differently. "What happened last night?"

"Josie's dad decided to beat her... drag her down the stairs... he fucking tried to strangle her." Antonio growled. "She hit him with a baseball bat and ran here in the pouring rain. She's got a sprained ankle, bruised back, ribs and shoulder."

"Josie!" Gaby exclaimed, rushing to the bed. "Why didn't you ring our bell?"

"Because you would've called the cops... Antonio wanted to... I didn't let him." Josie whispered. "I didn't want a huge fuss being raised. Antonio... he always said to come to his window if I needed anything... so I did."

"How bad?" Gaby asked, signalling to her back and shoulders. Josie turned and lifted the back of her borrowed T-shirt. Gaby gasped. "Jesus Christ! It looks like you got run over by a steam roller."

"It feels like I did." Josie groaned as she slid the T-shirt back down.

"Antonio's right. You're not going home." Gaby closed the bedroom door.

"He'll kill me if I don't." Josie protested.

"He'll kill you no matter what." Antonio said. "Look... Let me call your mom before we make any rush to decisions?"

"Fine." Josie leaned back against the pillows. "Can I get the bag of peas back? My ankle is really bugging me"

Antonio nodded. "Yeah." He signalled to Gaby to follow him. "We'll be right back." They closed the bedroom door behind them.

"You're seriously not calling the cops?" Gaby asked him once they were alone.

"Can't risk it. Josie thinks that some of them would cover for him."

"Shit."

"You're telling me." Antonio grabbed the bag of peas from the fridge and wrapped them in the towel. "Give this to her, and talk to her. I'm gonna call Dixie."

Gaby nodded and took the ice pack back to his room. He waited for her to close the door. He then grabbed the phone and dialled the number Dixie had given him in case of emergencies.

"Hello?"

"Dixie? It's Antonio." He sighed. "You got time?"

"Yeah, of course. What's going on?"

"Josie came with me to the Academy Graduation and Ball."

"Yes, I know that."

"I got her home a little later than expected... Billy was there... drunk as a skunk. Josie went downstairs to investigate the ruckus he was making. He attacked her, Dixie."

"Oh my God!" Dixie exclaimed. Her fear and worry was very clear over the phone line.

Antonio explained the entire story as Josie had told him. "She ran over here, sprained her ankle and pounded on my window. She stayed with me. I don't want her going back there, Dixie. He'll kill her."

"Antonio, I didn't want her to stay there either!" Dixie exclaimed. "He used pull with the judges to get custody of her. They didn't even ask her what she wanted."

"There's gotta be something we can do." Antonio was exasperated.

"I've tried everything, Antonio. I have. Until she's 18, I can't do anything about it."

"What if I could do something?" Antonio asked.

"Like what?"

"Marry her. If she were my wife, he'd have no say over her."

"I know you'd protect her always, Antonio. It's something I wish I had found someone like you... instead of Billy."

"Was he always like that?"

Dixie laughed. "No. He wasn't. He was a great guy... then something happened after we moved to New Orleans and he changed. He turned into this guy... he wasn't the man I married... he wasn't the man who used to spoil Josie."

"Would it work... me marrying her?"

"Both of us would have to sign the papers... there's no way he'd agree to that. Does he even know that you're dating her?"

"No. Josie's terrified to tell him."

"I still have some friends in Chicago... I'll see if we can work something out. Maybe they can help us."

"Dixie, I know this affects you too... but what if she were to legally emancipate herself from you guys. I'm not saying she'd have to cut you out..."

"But if she were emancipated... she'd be free of him." Dixie finished Antonio's thought.

"Yeah."

"Ask your brother. He's in law school... he should be able to help us out... if that's an option... I'm all for it."

"I wish there were more I could do, Dixie. I love her."

"I know, Antonio. I know. All that matters is that she's safe." Dixie sighed. "Try and keep her safe... as soon as I know more of what my friends can do... I'll get back to you."

"Thank you, Dixie."

"No problem. Give Josie my love."

"I will." Antonio hung up the call. He sighed. Dixie was right. There wasn't much anyone could do for the next 9 months or so, at least until Josie was 18. He headed back to his bedroom to deliver the news.

* * *

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* * *

"Well?" Josie asked as Antonio opened the door.

"Your mom's hands are tied... we have a couple options... and she's talking to some friends here... see if they can help out."

"What are the options?" Gaby asked.

Antonio took a deep breath. "First one is, personally the one I'd go for... you and I get married he can't touch you anymore that way."

"He'd have to sign off on it, wouldn't he?" Josie interrupted him.

Antonio nodded. "Yeah... that's the catch. Your mom said no problem, but he's another story all together."

"He's a controlling psychopath!" Gaby exclaimed. "No way he'll go for that."

"What's the other option?" Josie kept her attention on Antonio.

"Other than killing him?" Gaby grumbled.

Antonio ignored Gaby's comment. "I'd have to talk to Tiago... but legally emancipating you from both your parents. You would legally be considered an adult and he couldn't fight it."

"Wouldn't that mean... Mama wouldn't be my mom anymore?" Josie tilted her head to one side, trying to stretch her neck.

"In the legal sense, yes... but it doesn't mean that you couldn't have her in your life... it would just be to get out from under Billy." Antonio concluded.

"Ask Tiago. It's gotta be the best choice."

"What are we going to do about her until then?" Gaby asked.

"Do what we can to have her spend the most time possible with us."

"Antonio, you guys can't just quit living to keep an eye on me." Josie said, carefully pulling the now semi-frozen peas from her ankle and massaging it. "You start work next week... Gaby has school and a life."

"You life trumps that." Gaby interceded.

Josie sighed and slumped back against the pillows. "I'm not going to win, am I?"

Gaby and Antonio nodded. "Nope."

"Can we not tell your parents?" Josie asked.

"It's going to be kinda hard to explain the bruises and why you're hiding in Antonio's bedroom." Gaby pointed out.

"I just don't want anyone going after my dad for this."

Antonio crossed his arms.

"Antonio? What did you do?" Josie asked, flinching as she tried to move on the bed.

"I went over there... I made sure that he got the message that you are off limits."

"Did you...?" Josie was genuinely worried that Antonio had killed her father.

He shook his head. "No. I didn't kill the son-of-a-bitch. He deserves it, but I didn't."

"Okay." Josie groaned. "Is there anymore Advil?"

"I'll get it." Gaby patted Antonio on the shoulder. "You may want to tell Mami that Josie's hiding here."

"I know." Antonio went and sat on the bed next to Josie. "I did mean it when I said I'd marry you right now."

"He won't let that happen." Josie laid her head on his chest. "It would be the best choice."

"I know, babe. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Antonio." Josie whispered. "You're doing what you can."

"I'm not losing you, Josie. I love you... and I have a plan for us... just... I guess, we'll have to wait a few more months."

Josie nodded. "I love you."

He kissed her forehead and rubbed her back gently. There had to be another way.

* * *

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* * *

 **October...**

"So, you and Antonio have plans for his birthday?" Gaby asked.

Josie nodded. She had plans all right. She just wasn't going to be sharing them with her boyfriend's sister, even if she was her best friend.

"Well, dish!" Gaby poked her in the ribs.

"Gaby... Seriously?"

"Well, at least tell me what you got him."

Josie hadn't thought about that. "I... um..."

"Ladies!" Miss Kincade called their attention. "Could we focus a little more on the Treaty of Versailles and a little less on whatever gossip you've got going on over there?"

The girls nodded and clamped their mouths shut. Despite Miss Kincade being engaged to Tiago, she still treated them like every other student. They set to create notes for their upcoming World War I exam. Gaby passed Josie a small piece of paper.

 _Can we talk about it after class?_

Josie made sure that their teacher's attention was elsewhere. She mouthed. _'Yes, now study.'_

Gaby grinned and went back to making the timeline for their exam. Josie just shook her head and went back to writing out the key players for both sides. She had a plan, but there was definitely nothing planned for his birthday gift. She sighed. Ever since that night, two weeks ago, Billy had kept his distance from her. Whatever Antonio had told him, it had worked. She was able to spend more time there. The only condition was that she at least made him a meal for each night. Gaby had helped her make multiple meals that could be heated up as soon as he got home and left them in the freezer for him. This meant she was safe... for now. The bell rang. Both girls closed their binders and packed away their things.

"Gaby, Josie." Miss Kincade walked over to their table.

"Miss Kincade." Gaby smiled.

"I know it's hard for you two... especially with me marrying Tiago... but try to focus."

"Yes, ma'am." Josie grinned. "We're going to try our best."

"Good. I'll see you guys Friday for Antonio's birthday supper?" Both girls nodded. "Great. Well, study hard. See you girls Friday."

Gaby and Josie nodded again and bolted for the door. Since that incident, Antonio and his dad, Miguel, had found a car for Josie to use. She had her license and now she had a little car to get her and Gaby around each day, especially now that they were both volunteering at Chicago Med as readers to the elderly patients. They had to leave right away to make it there on time. Some of their patients had a very specific schedule.

"So," Gaby got in the passenger seat. "What's the deal?"

"I have plans for Antonio and me this Saturday."

"I got that. What are they?"

Josie glared at Gaby before putting the car in reverse to pull out of her stall.

"Seriously, what are you doing?"

"I'm making him a special supper... then we'll see what happens."

"Josie... are you planning on what I think you're planning."

"I'm not saying anything."

Gaby leaned back in the seat. "Hmm. Well, do you have a gift for him?"

"Not yet. I don't know what to get him."

"If I were you, I'd just stick a bow on my head and call it a day."

"Gabriela Maria Dawson!" Josie exclaimed. "Seriously?"

"What? It's free."

"It's also something that is not just a giveaway."

Gaby grinned. "So you two talked about it."

Josie sighed. "Look, we have... he told me only when I was ready."

"And... are you?"

"You really wanna know if I plan on having sex with your brother?"

"Uh..." Gaby thought about it for a second. "No."

"There. So what can I give him for his birthday?"

"Maybe some new boxing gloves?"

"Seriously?" Josie signaled to turn into the hospital parkade. "That's really romantic."

"Cut the sarcasm, Josie. You know he goes through those like toothbrushes."

"Hmm... maybe... oh... I have an idea..."

Gaby put the hospital parking pass on the rear-view mirror as Josie parked the car. "What is it?"

"Would he wear a chain or something?"

"Like a cross?"

"I was thinking more like a dog tag... but yeah." Josie grabbed her bag with the variety of books she's read to the patients.

"Sounds cool. When you gonna pick it up?"

"Maybe after we're done here?" Josie locked the car.

Gaby straightened her uniform, looked at her watch and nodded. "The mall will still be open."

The two headed inside to try and make the patients' day a little brighter.

* * *

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* * *

It was Friday and Josie was pumped. Luckily for Gaby and her, it was an early day today. The teachers had staff meetings, which meant the kids got to leave at lunch. Gaby and Josie were going to go and get ready after that. Mainly, Josie was going to get ready. Gaby had gone with her to the mall to get Antonio's gift as well as a new dress. Josie's mom had insisted on sending her money for it, so Josie did as her mother asked. The dress she bought was perfect for tonight and any other semi-formal date nights they may have in the future. She made sure she put Antonio's ring on her hand as she did every morning and put on the chain with the heart pendant. She never went anywhere without them. She went downstairs and set to making herself some breakfast.

"Josephine." Billy's voice made her jump.

"Ye... yes daddy?"

"Will you be home this weekend?"

"Um, I'm not sure. Depends on how much work we get done on our Biology project today."

"I see."

"Will... will you be home this weekend?"

Billy poured himself some coffee. "No. I was just hoping you'd be home to make sure that the lawn was cut and that the laundry was done."

"I can do that. For sure." Josie nodded. "Are you going on a case?" She prayed that Billy didn't notice the ring... or the chain.

Billy nodded. "Yes. It's going to be a long one... are you going next door today?"

Josie wasn't sure where he was going with this, but she nodded. "Yeah. Gaby has the stuff for the Biology project there... and they've invited me to go for dinner tonight. It's Antonio's birthday."

"Ah... good." He reached into his pocket. "Can you give this to them?" He handed her a sealed envelope.

"Yes, sir."

"Good. Now... behave... I'll call when I can. Umm... I'm sorry... about that night. I really am."

Josie was speechless. She just nodded and took a sip of her orange juice.

"I'll see you when I get back." Billy grabbed his bag and left.

Josie just sat in shock. She was still trying to figure things out when Antonio appeared at her back door. She shook her head to clear it and went to let him in.

"I saw your dad just leave. Everything okay?"

Josie nodded. "Yeah. Um... he gave me a letter to give to your parents." She handed him the envelope. "He didn't say who I should give it to though."

Antonio sighed. "Well, I can read it or you can give it to Mami and she'll just tell me about it later."

"If you read it, will you tell me what's in it?"

Antonio cocked his head to one side, causing his earring to glimmer in the morning sun. "Depends."

Josie reached for the letter but Antonio hid it behind his back and kissed her. "What was that for?" She asked.

"It's what I was hoping for when I first showed up... not a letter from your dad."

Josie put her hands on her hips. "Fine, I'm sorry. Good morning and Happy Birthday, babe." She then wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him. "Better?"

Antonio grinned. "Much." He looked at the envelope. "I'll read it and yes, I'll tell you what it says... then I'll give it to Mami." He wiped his shoes on the doormat and took off his police hat as he walked into the house. He sat on the barstool next to Josie's. Josie sat down and finished her breakfast while Antonio read the letter. "It says, 'Mr. & Mrs. Dawson. You may not know me... and you may not like what you've heard about me, but I have a favour to ask. I'm going into a deep cover assignment and I'm not sure how long it'll last. I know how close Josephine is with your daughter, Gabriela. If you could, please keep an eye on her. Should something happen, I would be greatly appreciative if you could take care of her until her mother is able to be reached. I will leave an envelope for your son, Antonio, at the District to cover any costs that you may incur in while watching over my daughter. Thank you. Billy Fraser."

Josie choked on the last bit of her toast. Antonio patted her on the back. "What?"

Antonio handed her the letter. "It's what it says."

"Holy shit!" Josie exclaimed. "I... I'm at a loss here."

"So am I." Antonio handed her her glass. "Drink this."

Josie finished off the orange juice. "What... I..."

"I know. Look... I can try and see if I can get any information... if you want."

"Sure." Josie nodded. "Just don't go getting into trouble to get it."

"I won't." He stroked her cheek. "You're gonna be late for school."

"Officer Dawson, if I'm late for school... you're gonna be late for roll call."

Antonio glanced at his watch. "Shit. You're right." He kissed her quickly but deeply. "I'll see you tonight?"

Josie nodded. "Yep. Are we still good for tomorrow? Just the two of us?"

Antonio nodded. "Can't wait. Love you, Jo."

"Love you, Tonio." She grinned. "Now, git... my dad may look for you to give you that other envelope. I'll give this one..." She grabbed it from Antonio. "To your mom when I pick up Gaby."

"Behave yourselves today."

"Always."

Antonio stole another kiss before putting on his hat and leaving. Josie locked the back door and headed to pick Gaby up for school.

* * *

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* * *

Antonio arrived right on time to meet with Trudy Platt. She was his partner for the time being and his training officer. She was a hard ass but that was to be expected with a new patrolman right out of the Academy.

"Dawson, you're cutting it awfully close, aren't you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Detective Fraser's been looking for you."

Antonio gulped. The last thing he needed was for Billy Fraser to be getting too close to him and finding out that Antonio was dating Josie. "Uh, where is he?" Trudy pointed behind him. Antonio spun around and came face to face with Billy Fraser. "Uh, good morning, Detective."

Billy grunted. "Morning. I need to speak to you."

"Uh, sure."

Billy lead him to one of the empty offices. "In here." He waited for Antonio to step in before closing the door.

"What... uh... what can I help you with?"

"I know you're dating my daughter, Dawson."

Antonio knew his eyes gave away the fear he was feeling. "Umm."

"Don't try to deny it. I saw the necklace you gave... she's wearing a high school ring that she shouldn't have until June... am I close?"

Antonio nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Dawson, look me in the eye and tell me exactly what it is you want to come of this relationship with my daughter."

Antonio took a deep breath and hoped to hell his voice wasn't shaking too badly. "I want a life with her, sir. This isn't just some fling or me trying to get in her pants. I genuinely love her... I don't want anything to happen to her."

"Is that why you came and 'talked' to me a couple weeks back?"

"Yes." Antonio said more bravely than he felt. "I was worried for her."

"I want you to know I can't forgive myself for what I did that night. And I deserved what you gave me." Billy leaned against the desk. "I love my daughter... just..."

"Sir, you don't owe me an explanation." Antonio said quickly. "I just want what's best for her."

"Did your mother get the letter?"

Antonio nodded. "Yes. I was there when Josie delivered it."

"Do you know what it says?"

"Yes."

"Then you understand why I've been looking for you?"

Antonio shook his head. "No, not really."

"I want to give you the money needed to keep care of her. I'm not sure how long I'll be under, and I don't want to put your parents out of their way to keep an eye on her. I also wanted to know what your intentions were... in case she needs someone else to go to for help."

"I understand. Sir, one day... I hope to marry her... when she's ready. I don't plan on pressuring her for anything. That's now how I want our relationship to work. But, I do have one question."

"Shoot." Billy crossed his arms.

"Why doesn't Dixie take care of her?"

"That's a good question and one that, maybe... one day I'll explain. For now, just understand that her mother and I fell apart... and we're doing what we both think is best for Josephine." Billy reached into his breast pocket. "This should cover what's needed. If not... I'll check in with you and you can tell me if she needs more."

"Thank you, sir."

"Watch over my baby, Antonio... something happens to her on your watch... and you won't be around long enough to make Detective."

Antonio gulped. "Yes, sir. I understand."

"Good." Billy offered a rare smile. "Now get going before Trudy starts riding your ass."

Antonio took the envelope and headed out of the office. He locked the envelope in the safe and headed to find his partner. He had no idea of what he'd tell Josie, but he knew that she would need to know that her father knew about them.

* * *

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* * *

Josie was in the middle of practicing her lines for their upcoming one-act plays for Theatre when Gaby basically pounced on her. "Jesus Christ!" Josie exclaimed. "Gaby!"

Mr. Rogers, their theatre teacher, looked to Josie. "Josephine! Language."

"Sorry, sir." Josie apologized. This was one of those occasions where Josie wished she wasn't in a Catholic school. "It won't happen again." When he turned back to give advice to another group of students, Josie turned to Gaby. "What the hell was that?"

"Sorry. Just... yeah... sorry." Gaby hugged her. "So... you excited about tonight?"

"Excited... nervous... did you read the letter?"

"I caught a brief glimpse. Your dad's going deep cover and wants my parents to keep an eye on you."

"Yep."

"Then why exactly do you look like you're gonna puke?"

"I think he may know about me and Antonio."

Gaby's smile faded. "Seriously?"

Josie nodded. "Yeah. I didn't know he was home this morning, so I had put my ring and necklace on already."

"Shit." Gaby whispered. "Think he'd go after Antonio?"

Josie shrugged. "I have no clue anymore." She looked at the clock. "The bell's gonna ring right away. We can discuss this more once we're at my place getting ready."

Right on cue, the early dismissal bell rang. Mr. Rogers made sure everyone knew that the one-acts were being performed next week whether they were ready or not. He then wished them a good weekend and got out of the way before being stampeded by a group of teens that couldn't wait to get out of school for the weekend. Gaby and Josie booked it out of there and headed straight for the parking lot. Unlike a lot of their classmates, they had brought all their stuff with them to class to ensure they could make a quick getaway. They hopped in Josie's car and headed to her house.

* * *

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* * *

Antonio sighed. It was 5 and they were stuck in traffic. He groaned.

"Got somewhere to be, Dawson?" Trudy asked from the passenger seat.

Antonio sighed again. "Kinda, yeah. It's my birthday and my family has something planned... even though they think it's a surprise."

"Not a fan of surprise parties, Dawson?"

"It's not that... just... I would rather just have nice quiet family meal... or spend time with my girl."

"Ah. Detective Fraser's daughter."

Antonio nodded slowly.

Trudy laughed. "You got a death wish? There's only one other cop whose daughter would result in a death sentence. Hank Voight."

"I thought Voight only had a son."

"Well, yeah, but if he had a daughter... I pity the man that would try to date her. He would never stand a chance."

"Well, I have enough with Detective Fraser. He beat her you know."

Trudy turned to face him. "And you know this how?"

"She came to me. He'd done a number on her."

"Why the hell didn't you call it in?"

"Because... she didn't want me to. She's worried that there are corrupt cops like her dad."

"Ah." Trudy leaned back in her seat. "Let me guess, you don't think I'm on that list and that's why you're telling me this right now." When Antonio didn't say anything, Trudy added. "Right, Antonio?"

"Yeah, Trudy. That's right." Antonio groaned. "I just want her to have the best life possible... and I get that Fraser is a great detective in the Gang Unit... but he's a shitty father."

"Just don't let him hear you say that." Trudy pointed out. "He's liable to put you in the dirt."

"He knows about us. He also told me if I hurt her, I won't live long enough to make Detective."

"He's got a point, Ace." Trudy took a sip of her coffee. "Blech. It's cold." She put it back in the cup holder. "Look, as soon as we get through this traffic, and we're back at the District... punch out and take off. I'll finish up the paper work."

"Aren't you worried about the Sergeant..."

"He's a pussy cat. Just... go enjoy your birthday." Trudy smiled. "It's a big thing, ya know... family."

Antonio nodded. "Yes, yes it is." He focused on getting them back to the District as soon as possible.

* * *

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* * *

Josie was starting to pace in the Dawsons' living room. Antonio wasn't late, ever. "What if something happened?"

"Mija..." Liliana took Josie's hand and got her to sit on the couch. "It's Chicago. There's traffic. He may have a pile of paperwork to do too. He will be here."

"Does he suspect a surprise party?" Josie asked quietly.

"Probably." Tiago laughed. "We do this every year."

Gaby punched her older brother in the arm. "Tiago! He still acts surprised."

"Yeah... I know. I guess I just wonder why we try to surprise him."

"Maybe this year... we just don't say 'Surprise'." Miguel said. "We just have a nice family dinner and that would be a surprise."

They sat and chatted about a variety of things. Tiago and Rebecca talked about some of their weddings plans while Gaby and Josie discussed what they were going to be doing after senior year.

"You still planning on going back to New Orleans after we graduate?" Gaby asked.

Josie answered. "I'm not sure. As much as I love being back there... I don't want to leave what I have here."

"Josie," Tiago asked. "Have you started applying to schools yet?"

Josie nodded. "Yeah. Um... I mostly applied around here."

"What are you planning on pursuing?" Rebecca asked.

"Nursing." Josie smiled. "I want to be a nurse... preferably here in Chicago."

"You'll be a fantastic nurse." Miguel patted her hand. "And you, Gabriela... what have you decided?"

"Paramedic... for now. I also applied to be a firefighter."

"A... A what?" Liliana gasped. "Gabriela... why don't you apply for being a teacher or a lawyer... or a nurse?"

"Because, Mami... I don't want those things." Gaby said. "I want to be on the front lines."

"Ay yi yi." Liliana shook her head. "Why do two of my children have to decide to be doing crazy, dangerous jobs?"

"You think being a lawyer isn't crazy?" Tiago laughed.

"I can't win." Liliana tossed her arms up in the air.

The room went silent as they heard Antonio's car pull up. They weren't sure if they should shout 'surprise' or not. Josie took the initiative. She got off the couch and signalled to them to go and hide in the dining room. They'd surprise him, just differently than they normally would. She went to the door and waited until she saw Antonio's silhouette in the window. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Happy birthday, Officer Dawson." She blushed.

Antonio's eyes widened when he saw her. He dropped his bag and pulled her into his arms. "Awe, Josie." He lifted her and spun her around. "Thank you." He gently put her back on her feet. "How was your day?"

"Good." She grinned. "We started learning about reproduction in biology."

Antonio arched an eyebrow. "Did you now?"

Josie nodded. "How was your day?"

Antonio was dreading that question. "Um..." He closed the door, just in case his family was listening in. "Your dad knows that we're dating."

Josie's jaw dropped. "Wha... what? How?"

"He saw the ring and the necklace. He also knew it was me who went to confront him a couple weeks ago."

"Shit."

"He said he's fine with it... unless I hurt you. He said I do that... I won't live long enough to make Detective."

Josie sighed. "Well, at least it's something."

"He wants me to take care of you." He brushed her bangs from her eyes. "Which is probably the easiest thing for me to do." He bent down and kissed her.

Josie cupped his face with her hands, deepening the kiss. She was lost in the kiss when Antonio lifted her and she instinctively wrapped her legs around him. Antonio opened the door again and the two headed into the house, oblivious to the fact that his family was waiting for them inside. They were lost in the moment when Antonio's family jumped out from the dining room and shouted 'Surprise!'.

Antonio out of instinct dropped Josie and reached for his gun. Josie cried out as she ungracefully landed on the floor. Antonio's family froze. "Jesus Christ!" Antonio exclaimed.

"Sorry." Tiago and Gaby said as they carefully approached their brother.

"Ow." Josie groaned.

Gaby went to help her up but Antonio had beaten her to it. "Baby, Jo... I'm so sorry." He lifted her off the floor with ease. He kissed her. "I'm sorry, Josie." He had a tear slide down his cheek.

"Antonio, I'm fine... bruised but fine." Josie touched his cheek. "I guess I should've remembered they were hiding here."

"Well, for once we actually managed to surprise you, huh, bro?" Tiago poked Antonio in the ribs.

Antonio glared at his older brother. "Not funny."

"Well, if you hadn't been making out with her..."

"Children... enough." Miguel stood up. "It's done. As long as we have no broken bones... we can move on with tonight's activities. We have dinner reservations in about an hour, so... let's allow them to recover from our little snafu."

Liliana went and kissed Antonio's cheek. "Feliz cumpleaños, hijo."

"Gracias, Mami." Antonio smiled. "We'll be right back." He took Josie's hand and together they headed to his basement suite.

As soon as they were downstairs, Antonio started to apologize, but Josie stopped him. "Baby, I forgot they were there. It's on me too."

"I dropped you."

"And I hurt my pride... nothing else. Come on, change. Your family won't tell me where we're going for dinner."

"Interesting." Antonio laughed. "I'll go change into something a little fancier than my uniform."

Josie took his hand. "Antonio... you don't have to hide from me... we've seen each other naked... well you've seen me naked... I've seen you more or less naked."

"Miss Fraser... what are you up to?" Antonio cocked his head to the left.

"Nothing... just... you don't have to change behind closed doors anymore, baby."

Antonio nodded. "Okay... then you can help me pick out my outfit."

Josie then followed him into his room. She went to his closet and pulled out his black suit. She then went through his dress shirts. She pulled out a blue shirt that closely matched her dress. It was a sharp royal blue. She then pulled a black and silver tie to go with it. "Here." She turned to hand him his clothes and her jaw dropped. "Antonio." She gasped.

"What?" Antonio smirked. He was standing there in nothing but his boxer briefs.

"Uh... um... hi." Josie stammered.

"Hi." He laughed.

Josie had to take in the sight that was Antonio Dawson. He stood there and she could see every tight muscle in his body. Being a boxer and a cop definitely did a body good. She could also tell that he was definitely well endowed. She took a deep breath.

"You like what you see, darlin'?"

Josie nodded slowly. "Uh huh." She finally said. "Um... before I act on what I'm feeling right this second... I'm going to hand you your clothes... otherwise, we'll never make that reservation."

Antonio took the clothes from her and kissed her gently. "Josie... right now... you're not the only one fighting feelings."

Josie's cheeks instantly turned red. "Umm." She sat on his bed and watched him get dressed. Every single muscle in his body was toned. She could see how the flexed when he put his shirt on and when he pulled on his pants. Her mind suddenly went to how those muscles would look when he made love to her.

"Jo?" Antonio waved his hand in front of her face. "You there?"

Josie shook her head to clear those thought. "Yeah. I'm ready when you are."

Antonio extended his hand. "Then let's get going before my sister and brother come barging down here."

* * *

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* * *

The real surprise was where Liliana and Miguel Dawson decided to take the family for supper that night. Antonio had followed the directions his mother had given him and his jaw dropped when they pulled up in front of Gibson's Bar and Steakhouse. "Holy shit!" He exclaimed.

Josie looked between him and the restaurant. "Umm... I've never been here before."

"Neither have I. It's one of the priciest steakhouses in Chicago." Antonio was in awe. "I... I've always wanted to come here. Mami and Papi always said it was too much for steak."

"I guess your 21st birthday makes it a very special occasion." Josie squeezed his hand. "Let's go. They're waiting for us."

Antonio got out of the car and went around to help Josie out. Arm in arm, they met his family. They walked in and were quickly seated in a more private area.

"Mami... this..." Antonio whispered.

"Is worth it. You became a police officer... it's your 21st birthday... you have a girl we all adore... I cannot think of a bigger reason to take you here." She patted his hand. "Te quiero, mijo."

"Te quiero mucho." He kissed her cheek. "Thank you."

"Did we finally manage to surprise you?" Miguel asked.

Antonio nodded. "Very much. It's... it's the best birthday I could've ever imagined."

Josie was sitting on his left side and was going over the evening's menu. Her jaw must've have dropped because Tiago, who was on her other side, whispered. "Don't worry about the cost."

Antonio leaned into Josie. "Babe, something wrong?"

"Uh... the cheapest steak is 42 dollars." She whispered. "I can't ask your parents to pay that... the bill's gonna be horrendous."

Antonio whispered back. "Darlin', order what you want. They wouldn't have brought us here if they couldn't afford it."

Josie knew that that was true, but she felt guilty about the thought of a 42-dollar filet minion. She continued to browse the menu while the others discussed their day's events. When the waiter arrived to take their order, she was still trying to figure out what she wanted to eat.

"She'll have your filet minion, medium well." Antonio spoke up for her. "She'd also like a Caesar salad and a root beer if you have it."

The waiter nodded and headed back to place the order.

"How... how did you...?" Josie stammered.

"I know you love steak... I know how you like your steak... I also know that you love root beer." Antonio took her hand. "We said don't worry... remember?"

Josie settled in after that. The evening was spent discussing what was going to be happening come the end of the school year, how Antonio's patrol was going or Tiago and Rebecca's wedding. While the wedding discussion was going on, Josie silently prayed that she and Antonio would get to share that too... and soon. She didn't care if she was 18 when she married him. She just knew that they were destined to be together.

As the evening winded down, everyone went their separate ways. Gaby and her parents headed home while Tiago and Rebecca were headed back to their place. Antonio and Josie were the only ones left.

"Well, what would you like to do?" Antonio asked.

"It's your birthday, Antonio. I think you should choose." Josie blushed.

"Well... I could choose to interrogate you about what you have planned for tomorrow."

"I would never tell you." Josie swore. "It's my surprise for you."

"Then, how about we go home and watch a scary movie together."

"Only if I get to sit in your lap."

"I can live with that." Antonio leaned down and kissed her.

* * *

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	3. That's The Beat Of The Heart

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* * *

They arrived back to Antonio's fairly quickly. There wasn't much traffic. Josie didn't really worry about having a change of clothes. In the last few days, she had slept with Antonio. He always gave her his t-shirt to sleep in and tonight wouldn't be any different. She didn't like being alone at home.

"Do your parents know I'm having sleepovers here, with you, almost every night for the last week?" Josie asked as Antonio unzipped her dress.

Antonio shrugged. "Not sure. Even if they do know, I highly doubt they'll object."

"I thought..."

"The whole Catholic thing? Yeah... they probably would object if we were having sex... but since we're only sleeping... I don't think it's much an issue." He handed her his t-shirt. "Here. You finish changing and I'll set up the VCR."

"I'll do scary, just nothing so scary that I won' t be sleeping for a week. I've got some mid-terms coming up soon."

"Can you tolerate Scream?" Antonio asked as he took off his tie and undid his shirt.

Josie thought about it. "Sure."

"Good." Antonio stole a quick kiss. "Don't take too long."

Josie smirked. "I won't." She let her dress fall to the floor and her bra wasn't too far behind it.

Antonio's face burned. "Uh... yeah... VCR." He left the bedroom and went to set up the TV and VCR.

Josie giggled. She kind of enjoyed having this kind of effect on him. She pulled the t-shirt on and quickly removed her makeup. She had stored a couple of her necessities here since she spent some much time here, either with Antonio or with Gaby. She put her hair into a messy ponytail and went to join Antonio in the living room. He had set up the couch with a pile of pillows and blankets. The TV was ready and he was in the process of microwaving some popcorn. He returned with a bowl full of Josie's favourite salty treat. He handed her a bottle of soda and sat on the couch. Once he was comfortable, he pulled Josie closer to him. Josie revelled in the heat of his body. She knew she wouldn't be freezing come wintertime in Chicago. Not with Antonio next to her. Antonio grabbed the remote and hit 'play'. Josie snuggled in closely and munched on some popcorn as the slasher movie played. During the scenes that were a little too much for her, she buried her face in his chest.

When the movie was over, Antonio turned the VCR and TV off. He looked down at Josie. He figured she was asleep because she was so quiet. He went to get off the couch.

"Uh... no." Josie groaned. "You ain't going anywhere."

"I thought you were sleeping, missy."

"Nope, just relaxing. I like just being like this with you. I don't ever want this to end."

Antonio brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. "Not going to happen. "Come on, let's get to bed."

"But, I'm comfy here." She pouted.

"Pouting doesn't suit you, baby." He leaned down and kissed her.

Josie deepened the kiss, cupping his face in her hands. "Antonio." She moaned.

Antonio was as lost in the kiss as she was. Josie repositioned herself. She straddled Antonio as she kissed him, occasionally nipping at his bottom lip. Antonio pulled her in tighter, almost crushing her lips with his kisses. His hands lowered to her hips and he held on to her as she began to grind up against him. It was when Antonio's groin began to burn with passion that he realized what was going on. He broke the kiss.

Josie looked to him in shock. "Did I do something wrong?"

Antonio shook his head. "No." He answered hoarsely. "No, baby. It's not you... it's... I can't take advantage of you."

"Antonio... you can't take advantage of me when I'm willing and do know what I'm getting myself into." Josie leaned in. "I want this." Her hands slid down his chest, stopping just short of the band of his boxers.

"Jo." He breathed. "Are you sure?"

Josie nodded. "Yeah. I was going to wait until tomorrow night..." She saw the clock. "Well, technically tonight... but I can't. I've been wanting this since that night when you saved me." Her one hand slid just a tiny bit lower.

Her touch sent a shiver up his spine and made his blood surge. His heart was racing. He stroked her cheek. "I've been wanting you for a while." He kissed her gently. "I love you, Josie."

"And I love you, Antonio." She kissed him, this time more passionately.

Antonio threw caution to the wind. "Wrap your arms and legs around me."

Josie did as she was told. Antonio stood up and carried her to his bed. He kicked the door closed behind him and gently laid her on the bed. He knew what this meant. There was no turning back.

He kissed her, then trailed a line of kisses along her jawline and neck. He smiled as he heard her moan his name. His hand gently traced the curves of her body. He reached the bottom of the t-shirt. He pulled it up. Josie sat up and allowed Antonio to pull it over her head. He tossed the t-shirt to the ground. He put one hand in her hair to kiss her deeper. Josie's body arched up against his. Antonio moaned. He was rock hard and ready to go. Josie's hand ran down his chest. Her touch was enough to push him over the edge. He slid one hand down her waist and pulled her underwear off. They, too, were tossed to the ground. He slid his own underwear off and kicked it aside. He lowered his head to her chest. He kissed every inch of her skin, slowly making his way to her core. He slowly began to kiss and lick along the folds. Josie bucked beneath him. She had never felt this before. The pleasure almost sent her over the edge. He wanted to make sure she was ready for him. He slowly slid one finger, then another into her warm, wet heat.

"Antonio." She moaned. "Oh... god."

"I'm here, baby." He gently flicked his thumb against her clit. He grinned as she lifted herself off the bed. "Is that good?"

Josie nodded. She was speechless.

Antonio knew she was ready. He lifted himself over her. He lowered his lips to her ear. "If it's too much, you tell me to stop."

"Baby..." She pleaded. "Please... I need you."

Antonio kissed her. Her sweet taste intermingled on both their lips. He gently slid into her. Josie gasped at the initial intrusion. She was tight. Antonio took his time. He didn't want to hurt her. He felt a little resistance as he met her virginity and with one quick thrust, he pierced it. Josie cried out but Antonio caught it with it a kiss. "You okay?" He asked.

"Yeah. I'm okay." She nodded. She caressed his cheek. "Love me, please?"

Antonio slowly moved, allowing Josie to choose the pace. He ran one thumb across her taut nipple, causing goosebumps to cover her skin. A thin layer of sweat covered both their bodies as they upped their tempo. Antonio hadn't felt this way in a long time. He gasped as Josie clamped down around him tightly.

"Jo." He moaned.

"Antonio." Josie sighed. "Oh, Antonio... oh God!"

Antonio couldn't hold back. He came hard and fast. Josie felt his heat fill her as she gave into the throws of ecstasy. Both of them were shaking and their breathing was ragged. Antonio was careful not to collapse on top of her. He slowly pulled out and laid on the bed, pulling Josie onto him. "How are you feeling?"

"Like my legs are Jell-O." Josie whispered hoarsely. "That... was... wow."

Antonio stroked her arm. "I agree." He kissed the tip of her nose. "I love you."

"I love you." She kissed his lips gently. She snuggled up next to him. "It didn't hurt too much."

"It's just the first time." Antonio said. "It should never hurt."

"Thank you."

"For what?" Antonio asked.

"Keeping your word... being gentle... all of it."

"I would never hurt you, Jo. I love you too much." Antonio kissed her again. "You... you are everything to me."

"You are to me too." Josie said sleepily.

"Get some sleep." Antonio whispered.

"You're staying right?"

"Always." Antonio pulled the covers over them. "Always." He turned off the lamp and held her tightly. His future was right next to him and nothing was going to change that.

* * *

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* * *

When the sun shone through his bedroom window, Antonio stirred. He slowly opened his eyes to prevent himself from being blinded. He looked to the clock. It was almost 8. He looked down in his arms and smiled. Josie, his sweet Josie, was still sound asleep in his arms. He brushed her hair from her face. She stirred but didn't wake. He carefully got up and picked up the clothes from their night of passion and placed them properly. He went to the bathroom to relieve himself. He padded back to his room and slid back into bed with Josie.

"5 more minutes." Josie groaned.

Antonio kissed her shoulder. "Good morning, baby."

Josie turned over and smiled. "Good morning."

"How are you feeling this morning?"

Josie sat up a little. "A little sore, but I'll live." She kissed him. "How about you?"

Antonio kissed her a little deeper. "I haven't ever had it like that."

"It was that good?"

"It was better." Antonio smiled. "Let's make some breakfast... then I'm yours for the day."

Josie smiled. "I like the sound of that." She rolled over him to get off the bed. She stopped when she noticed something on his sheets. "Antonio..."

He looked to where she was pointing. There were minute drops of blood.

"What... did I...?"

"It's okay, Jo. That's normal."

Josie thought about it and then remember biology class. "Oh."

"Yeah." He got off the bed and hugged her. "Don't worry about it. I'll set the sheets to wash. Let's get some food first."

Josie pulled his t-shirt over her head while he pulled on a pair of sweats. Hand in hand, they headed to the kitchen to make some breakfast. Josie took control as she set up her mom's pancake recipe. Antonio sat back and watched her expertly make the batter. She got perfect little, round pancakes in two pans and worked at scrambling some eggs. She found some bacon in the freezer and quickly thawed it and put it in the oven.

"You're not pan frying the bacon?" Antonio asked.

Josie shook her head. "Nope. Baking it causes less mess and it doesn't shrivel up."

"Cool." Antonio got up and set the table and then poured them some orange juice. He put on a pot of coffee. "Do you want some?"

"I don't like coffee." Josie blushed. "It's too bitter for me."

"Fair enough." He turned the coffee machine on.

"Antonio?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"Are your parents going to be suspicious as to why you're not coming up for breakfast today?"

He shrugged. "I'm 21... I don't really think it matters anymore. If they ask, I'll be honest... without telling them about our sexual relationship."

"Okay." Josie's cheeks were still burning. She felt like a new woman now. "So, I was thinking... you like to cook Dominican and Latino food... I love Southern, Creole and Cajun... so... my plan is I want us to experiment with both types of cuisine all day. Then... I have something else planned."

"Another surprise?" Antonio arched an eyebrow.

Josie giggled. "Yeah. Oh!"

"What? You okay?" Antonio went to her side.

"Yeah... no I... I forgot to give you your birthday present." Josie ran back to his bedroom.

"Jo... you didn't need to get me anything!" He called after her.

Josie reappeared with a small bag.

"Josie... I have you... you are the best gift I could ever ask for."

"I wanted to get you this. I thought it suited you." Her eyes were sparkling.

Antonio took the bag and pulled out the tissue paper that was on top. He then pulled out a small jewelry box. He looked to her and then opened the box. In it sat a dog tag. He pulled it out of the box and read the front. It was the 'Lord's Prayer' in Spanish.

"Turn it over." Josie whispered.

Antonio flipped it over and read it. "Je t'aimes à jamais. A + J."

"You kinda gave me the idea with the necklace." Her hand instinctively went to the chain around her neck. She wouldn't have to take it off anymore, not since her dad knew about their relationship. "That and I figured that you should have some protection when you're out on the streets. I had Father O'Shea bless it at school the other day."

"It's amazing." Antonio smiled. He put the dog tag around his neck and then pulled Josie in for a kiss. "You're amazing."

"I think you're pretty amazing too." Josie said. "We should eat before everything gets cold."

They served up the food and sat at the table to discuss the different things they could make throughout the day. Antonio laughed when Josie dropped a pancake down her shirt.

"I'm all sticky!" She whined.

Antonio wiped as much of the syrup as he could. "Good news... I have a shower... works pretty good."

"Will you come in with me?" She winked mischievously.

"Sure." He laughed. "I would love to have a shower with you."

They put their dishes in the sink and headed to the bathroom. Antonio was chasing Josie. Their laughter echoed off the walls.

* * *

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* * *

After their shower, they went upstairs to spend a little time with his parents before heading to Josie's for their day together. They made a variety of empanadas and marinades that came from Antonio's heritage while they set to preparing a Creole Gumbo for supper. While the gumbo simmered, they went to Josie's room to pack some of her things. They had discussed it, and Antonio had made the suggestion that she stay with him or with his parents until her dad came back home. It was safer that way. So they packed up one of her suitcases for that. Once they had that packed, they went back to pack up the now cooled empanadas and set the rice to cook for the gumbo. Josie was a little nervous about what she had planned for today, but she had thought it through and she knew she had to go through with it.

Antonio was busy putting away dishes when Josie took a deep breath and spun him around. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. His eyes widened with surprise but he quickly eased into the kiss. He moaned as she nipped at his bottom lip. She pushed her body into his, causing him to back up into a wall. He grabbed at her round derriere and pulled her into him. His blood was surging again. He could feel his erection push against the tight denim of his jeans. He didn't want to take her in the kitchen. He lifted her into his arms and carried her to her bedroom. He worked hard to focus so he wouldn't trip on the stairs as she continued to kiss and suck on his neck. He pushed her door open and went to put her on the bed. She rolled off the bed and grabbed his belt buckle. "Jo... what... what are you doing?" He asked hoarsely.

She didn't answer him. She undid his belt and pulled down his jeans and boxers. She had read about this and had learned that men loved getting it. She took his rock hard cock in her hand and put it to her lips. Antonio was so surprised; he didn't know what to do. He moaned as she pulled him into her mouth. Her lips were soft against his sensitive skin. She gently worked him in and out of her mouth. Her tongue wound around his shaft. He was in heaven. He gasped as she softly took hold of his orbs. He arched back, pushing himself deeper in her mouth. Josie gagged a little but slowed her breathing and continued to move him in and out of her mouth. Antonio could feel that he was close. He knew that some girls liked that, but Josie was new to all this. He pulled back.

Josie's eyes widened. "Didn't you..."

"Babe, I love it... but I want to have you wrapped around me... I don't like the idea of finishing that way." He pulled her up and carried her the last few steps to her bed. He fell back on to it, pulling her with him. "I want to see you."

Josie nodded. She pulled her sundress off. Antonio made quick work of her bra and sent it fluttering to the floor. He was however a little surprised to see she wasn't wearing underwear. She bent down and kissed him. He used his strength to lift her onto his hips. She could feel how hard he was. She repositioned herself to slide onto his thick shaft. They both moaned as the sensation sent them reeling. Josie slowly moved her hips while Antonio held onto her hips to control the speed and tempo of their lovemaking. Josie's back arched as she got closer to her climax. Antonio couldn't get his eyes off of her. She was beautiful.

"Anto... Antonio!" She cried out.

Antonio held onto her tightly as he climaxed. She was tight as a glove around him. He could feel her body shiver. He pulled her towards him and had her lay on his chest. He grabbed the sheet and covered them with it. He whispered how much he loved her in Spanish as he stroked her back.

"That's beautiful." Josie whispered.

"What is?"

"You speaking Spanish. It's almost musical." She kissed his cheek. "That... was..."

"Amazing?" He finished. "You're covered in goosebumps." He stroked along her rib cage.

"I get chilly after." She said. "I now understand why Cosmo has those tricks and tips articles."

"Cosmo? Really?" Antonio arched an eyebrow. "What happened to that angelic girl I met a few months ago?"

Josie's cheeks burned. "Um..."

"It's okay. I'm not going to complain. You ... you complete me Josie." He kissed her. "I never want to let you go."

"Well, you're gonna have to because the rice and gumbo should almost be done... plus... we need food... I think we just burned any energy we had left."

"Your legs Jell-O again?" He tickled her.

Josie squealed. "Hey! No fair!" She tried to roll away from him but forgot how small her bed was. She ended up rolling right off the edge and landed hard on the floor. "Ow!"

Antonio leaned over the side. "Babe! You okay?"

Josie nodded slowly. "Ow. Yeah... my butt hurts now." She slowly got to her knees. "Damn binder."

"You really shouldn't be keeping school stuff on the floor... ya never know when you'll fall out of bed." He teased her.

"Help me up? Please." She said.

Antonio helped her to her feet. "Can I kiss it better?"

Josie smacked his chest playfully. "No. Hand me the sundress... you may want to put some clothes on..."

"Why?" He asked as if he were a toddler.

"Because, the curtains aren't up right now... I was washing them... I'm not really sure I want other people to see how sexy my boyfriend is in his birthday suit." She flicked at the dog tag around his neck.

"Fair enough." He stole a kiss. "I wouldn't want my girl going into a jealous rage and I'd have to bail her out of lockup."

"You're a brat."

"I can be." He winked at her. "Race you to the kitchen!" He bolted out of the door.

"Hey! That's cheating!" Josie took off after him down the stairs.

* * *

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* * *

 _ **Late November...**_

"Hey! Josie!" Gaby grinned as Josie opened the door.

"Hey." Josie whispered.

"Josie... what's up?" Gaby entered the Fraser house. "You look like hell."

"I caught the flu."

"But... Thanksgiving is this week."

Josie shuddered. "Don't I know it. I promised your mom I'd come over to help make supper."

"Is your dad still...?"

"Yep." Josie nodded. "He called the other night. He said to be extra careful. The people he's trying to get suspect a rat. If they make him... they... they might come after me..."

"Have you told Antonio?"

Josie nodded. "Yeah, but Daddy beat me to it. Antonio's now on super patrol."

"Oh boy." Gaby hugged her. "You don't have a fever. You sure it's the flu?"

"What else could it be?" Josie threw her hands up in the air. "I'm nauseated... throwing up... that's the flu."

"Hmm." Gaby sighed. "Well, are you coming to school?"

"We have a Lit mid-term and a history paper... so whatta you think?"

"I think that you can cut the brave, tough girl act and stay home for one day. I'm sure Mr. Walker will let you take it another day... and if I explain to Rebecca that you're sick... she'll let you write the paper another day too."

"I don't want to drag this crap out." Josie collapsed on the loveseat.

Gaby sat next to her. "Does Antonio know you're not feeling so hot?"

Josie shook her head. "No, because if he were to find out... he'd take the day off and come take care of me. He won't make detective if he does that every time I get sick."

"Josie... this is the first time you've been sick since we met." Gaby crossed her arms. "You should tell him... or else, maybe I will."

"Gabriela Dawson don't you dare." Josie said harshly. She covered her mouth as the urge to vomit became overwhelming. She bolted to the bathroom.

"Jo?" Gaby took off after her. "Josie!" She ran to the bathroom and witnessed Josie losing her breakfast. Gaby took a facecloth and ran it under the cold water. She rang it out and handed it to Josie. "Here. This may help."

Josie leaned against the wall and put the cold cloth on her face. "Oh, that feels good."

"You still planning on going to school?" Gaby asked.

"Probably not."

"God. Stay home. I'll borrow Mami's car to go to school... and I'll bring you some chicken soup tonight. You stay in bed and lock the door. I have the emergency key."

"Promise me you won't tell Antonio." Josie pleaded.

"Sure thing." Gaby said. "But... if you aren't better by the time I get out of school... you're gonna tell him when he gets home."

"He'll make me go to a doctor."

"Maybe I should make you go to a doctor." Gaby snapped. "Sorry... it's... I'm worried about you. You haven't been yourself for a week or so now."

"Maybe it's that time of the month." Josie sighed. Her eyes widened. "Oh shit."

"What?!" Gaby exclaimed.

"Um..."

"Josie... spit it out." Gaby was impatient. She looked at the clock on the wall. "Fuck this. I'm not going either. They can have a truancy officer come look for me I don't care. My best friend needs me."

"Gaby... go to school. I'll be fine."

"Like hell you are!" Gaby shouted. "You look like hell... you don't have a fever and you're puking non-stop. This isn't PMS."

"No... probably not." Josie whispered. "Look, I'll tell you... but tell your mom I'm sick... have her call the school for both of us."

"Then you'll tell me what the hell is going on here?" Gaby questioned.

"Yeah." Josie nodded.

"Okay. I'll be right back. Don't you go anywhere." Gaby pointed to her. "I mean it."

Josie nodded weakly as she covered her face completely with the cold cloth.

Gaby ran next door to speak to her mother. "Mami."

"Gaby... why aren't you and Josie on your way to school?" Her mother asked as she was pulling on her coat to go to the market.

"Josie's sick. Like... really sick." Gaby sighed. "I'm worried about her being alone all day, and she won't let me call Antonio... can you...?"

"Si, I'll call the school. I excuse you for the rest of the week. There's only another day other than today before the holiday." Liliana Dawson did up her coat. "Go take care of her... and I will speak to Antonio... and I promise to ensure he doesn't come rushing home to take care of her."

"Good." Gaby smiled. "Thank you, Mami."

"De nada, mija." Liliana hugged her daughter tightly. "Now, make sure that Josie eats and drinks lots of fluids."

"Yes, Mami. I know." Gaby smiled. "I'm gonna bring some of the soup from the fridge."

"Good idea. Behave yourself."

"Yes, Mami." Gaby rolled her eyes. "If you want to make the market before all the good veggies are gone, you should get going."

Liliana shook her head and headed out to the market. Gaby ran to the kitchen and grabbed the pot of chicken soup that was on the middle shelf. She grabbed some gingerale and crackers and headed back to Josie's house, locking her house on the way out.

* * *

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* * *

"Dawson!" Commander Lewis shouted at him.

Antonio was coming in with a drunk and disorderly. "Yes, sir?" He asked.

"Pass that drunk off and get your ass over here."

Antonio had no clue what he had done to piss off his Commander but he did as he was told. Trudy took the drunk and Antonio went to the Commander's office. "Yes, sir?" He asked.

"You know Detective Fraser?" The Commander wasn't beating around the bush.

"Yes, sir. He's my neighbour."

"He wants to see you in his office."

"When sir?"

"Right now. Move it, Dawson. He can't be here too long... the case he's on is getting hot." Commander Lewis dismissed him and Antonio spun on his heel and left.

He headed to the Gang Unit's offices. He looked everywhere for Fraser but couldn't find him. He looked to the secretary at the front desk. "Is Detective Fraser in?"

"And you are?" She asked.

"Officer Antonio Dawson. Commander Lewis said he was looking for me."

"One moment." She said. She dialed a number. "Officer Dawson is here for Detective Fraser." She paused. "Yes sir." She hung up the phone and looked up to Antonio. "Head to the last office on the right."

"Thank you." Antonio followed her directions to the last office on the right. He looked at it and did a double take. The office wasn't Fraser's. It belonged to Hank Voight. He knocked on the door. "Officer Dawson to see Detective Fraser."

"Come in." A gruff voice responded.

Antonio opened the door. He stepped into the office. Billy Fraser wasn't there, but two other detectives were.

"Officer Dawson." The one behind the desk said. "I'm Detective Voight... this here is Detective Olinsky."

"Sirs." Antonio shook both their hands. "Where's Detective Fraser? I was told that he's been looking for me."

"He was, but this case is not going as planned." Voight said. "We suspect his cover may be blown... and if that's the case... his family is in danger."

Antonio's body went rigid at the thought of Josie's life being on the line because of her father's job. "Sir?"

"Antonio... may I call you Antonio?" Olinsky asked.

Antonio nodded.

"Antonio, Billy told us you're dating his daughter, Josephine."

"Yes, sir. I am." Antonio maintained his posture despite wanting to punch something right then.

"Can you keep a close watch on her?" Voight asked. "We'd have you detailed away from Patrol temporarily... until the threat is neutralized."

"Will Commander Lewis sign off on that?" Antonio asked in return.

Voight looked to Olinsky. "To catch this guy, Lewis will sign off on just about anything."

Antonio nodded. "Then I'll do it."

"Good. Now... this starts tomorrow... Billy doesn't want her to worry about this."

"I understand." Antonio knew that he'd have to tell her something. "What exactly will I be doing?"

"Drive her and your sister, she's Josephine's best friend, right?" Olinsky asked. When Antonio nodded, Olinsky continued. "Drive them everywhere. Spend time at the Fraser house, have her spend time at your place... when she's distracted... check for bugs and that kinda thing."

"Do I get to know who I'm supposed to be watching out for?" Antonio didn't want to push his luck, but to protect Josie, he'd need all the details.

"We're after the Outlaws. They've been running guns and girls in and out of Chicago... now they're on the brink of starting a gang war. If we can get their bosses... we can put a lot of this to bed." Voight answered gruffly. "You have an idea on what to look out for?"

Antonio nodded. "Yes, I do."

"Good." Voight handed him a piece of paper. "These are the ways to contact Al or myself. You can't reach Billy directly... but anything you need him to hear... we can relay the message. Code word is Christmas. You say that... it better be life or death... because that's calling the cavalry in."

Antonio took a deep breath. "I understand. Christmas is the life or death code."

"Good." Voight shook his hand. "You'll make a great detective one day. I can see that."

"Thank you, sir." Antonio said. "I am working to that."

"Do good here..." Olinsky shook his hand. "We'll put a good word in for you."

"Thank you." Antonio said. These men's word could definitely get him closer to being a detective in Vice or Homicide.

"Well... go wrap up your shift. Inform your partner." Voight dismissed him.

Antonio left the office, closing the door behind him. He shook his head. He had no clue as to what the hell was going on here but he went to go find Trudy. She wasn't hard to find. She was standing at the end of the Desk Sergeant's desk, tapping her foot impatiently. He put the paper Voight had handed him in his wallet and walked over to his partner. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize." She snapped. "Let's go. We've got 8 hours left in this shift and we've just been assigned to West Cermak. Someone claims to see a fight going down at a market. We're the ones who get to break it up. Move it."

Antonio grabbed the keys to their squad car and they headed out.

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* * *

Gaby got back to Josie's and heard the shower running. She put a small amount of soup on the stove and put the rest in the fridge along with the cans of Canada Dry Gingerale. She knocked on the bathroom door. "Josie... I'm back. Mami's dealing with the school stuff."

"Thanks Gaby." Josie said through the door.

Gaby heard the water shut off and the curtain open. "How you feeling?"

"Like shit." Came the answer.

"Still nauseated?"

Josie opened the door, wrapped in a towel. "Yep."

"I brought some of Mami's chicken soup and gingerale. They usually help me when I feel like that."

"Thanks, Gaby."

"So, you planning on filling me in as to why you were freaking out before I left."

"I'm late." Josie whispered. She slumped against the wall.

"You're late for what?" Gaby wasn't exactly sure of where this train of thought was headed.

"Help me up." Josie put her hands out.

Gaby helped her to her feet, then followed her to her bedroom.

"Close the door please." Josie whispered.

Gaby closed the door and sat on Josie's bed. "So... explain to me what the hell you're talking about because you sure as fuck aren't making any sense."

"Didn't you pay attention in bio?"

Gaby shrugged.

Josie didn't want to be super detailed but she didn't have a choice. "Gaby... Antonio and I had sex... have been having sex... and..."

"Your PERIOD is late?!" Gaby bolted off the bed, jaw hanging.

Josie groaned. "Yes... and you don't have to be so damned loud."

"How...what... Josie!" Gaby exclaimed. "I know I didn't pay a whole lot of attention in biology, but even I know about condoms and birth control... you sure you're late?"

"This is... the second period I've missed." Josie covered her face with a pillow.

Gaby was speechless. "Antonio didn't... oh... you gotta tell him."

"No!" Josie cried. "I can't... if Daddy finds out and I am... he's going to kill Antonio."

"It's a baby... at least it's not a STI." Gaby sat next to Josie. "Do you have a test?"

Josie shook her head. "I'm too chicken shit to buy one."

"You have to do a test... or go to a clinic or something." Gaby was in shock that Josie didn't want to know.

"I'm pretty sure I am."

"Give me your keys." Gaby put her hand out. "I'll go buy a damn test."

"Uh..."

"I don't care if people judge me. Come on, Josie. At least to find out... then you can make up what you're going to do if you are."

Josie reached for her nightstand. "Here. Don't go getting any tickets or getting into an accident." She handed the keys to her beloved car to Gaby.

"I promise. You rest." Gaby said. "And I'll continue to plan how I plan on killing my big brother for knocking up my best friend."

"Gaby!"

"Come on... even he knows better... you could end up getting kicked out of school... the consequences..."

"I'm 17. He can't be charged with anything. I initiated it the first few times... now it just happens."

Gaby shook her head. "At least I've been using protection."

"Gaby." Josie glared at her. "Just go. Please."

Gaby turned and went to get the test. She knew that Antonio would step up to the plate of fatherhood if Josie was indeed pregnant, but she also knew that Billy Fraser would flip his shit if he found out. She headed to a pharmacy away from their neighbourhood to pick up a couple different tests. It was better safe than sorry. She paid for them and rushed back to Josie's. She had to be back there before her mother came back and noticed Josie's car missing from the driveway. She ran back to Josie's room with the bag of tests. "Here."

"What on earth?" Josie asked. "Did you buy every test there was?"

"I figured if more than one comes back positive... you're pregnant... some of these things... they can have false positives."

"Ah." Josie sighed. "So how do I use one?"

Gaby laughed. "You're kidding, right?"

"No." Josie crossed her legs on the bed. "I never thought I'd have to use one before I was married."

"Ok." Gaby sighed. "You take the stick out of the wrapper... pull off the cap... pee on it... then wait 3-5 minutes for a result."

"Ok... give me two of them... I'll go take them."

Gaby handed her three different sticks. "Three times."

"Whatever, Gaby." Josie snatched them from her hand and headed to the bathroom. She partially closed the door so she could talk to Gaby while doing this. "Gabs?"

"Yeah, Jo?"

"How do you know how to do these?"

"I've done a couple in the past year." Gaby said non-chalantly.

"Seriously?" Josie laughed. "You were just chastising me and your brother for making love without protection."

"I'm a hypocrite." Gaby said. "You done?"

Josie put all three sticks on the bathroom counter, flushed the toilet and washed her hands. She poked her head out. "Now..."

"We wait." Gaby finished the sentence.

It was going to be the longest 3-5 minutes of their lives.

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* * *

"Dawson!" Platt called out. "He's on the run!"

Antonio could him take off down the alley. "I got him!"

"I'll go around back!" Trudy shouted as she took off.

The man they were chasing was a well-known crack dealer. His drugs had killed 4 college kids already and had done a number on the prostitutes of Chicago. Trudy went into the condemned house that he had been known to frequent. She was checking to see where he could possibly be hiding. She could hear Antonio shouting at him to stop. That they were the CPD. Trudy turned and came face to face with a 12-gauge shotgun. Her jaw dropped. She dove into another room. The buckshot caused an explosion of glass shards to fly. "Dawson!" She screamed. She drew her weapon and prepared to fire as the perp came through the door looking for her. "Dawson!" She pulled the trigger but nothing happened. Her gun jammed. She made a mad dash for the door into the bathroom. She heard a concussive 'boom!' echo and a piercing pain burned through her hip and ass. She screamed as she fell through the door and onto the ground.

"Platt!" Dawson's voice was distant. "Hey! Freeze! Drop the gun!" Another shot was fired off. Trudy knew it wasn't the shotgun. "Stay down! You're under arrest!" Dawson's voice was filled with anger and disgust. Platt was going in and out of consciousness. She barely heard Antonio read the prick his rights.

"Trudy!" Antonio was closer. "Damn it! This is Patrol 21-15. Officer down! Repeat officer down! I need an ambo and back up to our location." He grabbed his jacket and pushed it onto Trudy's wound. "Come on, Platt. Stay with me."

Two hours later, Antonio was sitting in interrogation with their crack dealer. "Listen, we got you in dealing and producing crack. We've got enough evidence on you to send you up for a lifetime... yet... you still had to go and shoot a cop." He was losing his patience.

"Bitch done gone and messed up my house."

Antonio lost it. He got up and decked the bastard. He could hear the dealer's jaw shatter under the impact. "You're gonna make someone a real nice bitch up in Statesville." He stormed out of interrogation and headed to the locker room.

"Dawson!"

"Fuck." Antonio muttered. He turned to see Commander Lewis in the doorway of his office.

"In here! NOW!" Commander Lewis bellowed.

Everyone in the general vicinity froze and looked at Antonio. He kept his head held high and walked confidently into the Commander's office. Sitting in the office were Detectives Voight and Olinsky. Antonio stood at attention in the corner of Lewis' office.

Commander Lewis sat in his chair. "Can you explain to me why our main crack supply dealer is on their way to Lakeshore with a busted jaw?" He clasped his hands together.

"I broke it." Antonio replied. "Sir."

"We know... we were watching." Commander Lewis growled. "Why?"

"He was being uncooperative, sir."

Commander Lewis turned to Voight and Olinsky. "You still want him to cover in the Gang Unit?"

They nodded. "He's the one that can keep Detective Fraser's daughter the safest... and he's already close to her. He blends into the neighbourhood." Voight answered.

"Well... Officer Dawson... for the sake of your cover... you're suspended... in terms only. You'll be on duty at all times." Commander Lewis turned back to Antonio. "No alcohol... and bare minimum of distractions... That girl and her safety are your sole priority. Got it?"

"Yes, sirs." Antonio said. "She is my priority."

"Now... answer me this... before I let Detectives Voight and Olinsky have you to prep you... are you in a relationship with this girl?"

Antonio gulped. "Would it change things, sir?"

"Not an answer."

"Yes, sir. We are in a relationship. Have been since July."

"I see." Commander Lewis looked between the three men in front of him. "Is it a physical relationship?"

"Sir, I don't see how my personal life or actions is going to affect me protecting Detective Fraser's daughter from harm."

"Dawson, if you're sleeping with her... that's on you." Voight said. "But... you can't let hormones distract you on a job like this."

"It won't. I take my job seriously. I won't let my emotions or feelings detract from my job of protecting Josephine Fraser." Antonio swore. "I swear it on my life."

"Good." Al Olinsky said. "He's telling the truth, Commander. If that's all, sir... respectively... we've gotta get him prepped for this."

Lewis nodded and dismissed them. Antonio followed the other two men to an empty conference room. They closed the door behind them.

Voight turned to Antonio. "I'm taking her father doesn't know about your intimacy with his baby girl?"

"No, sir. He doesn't."

"Drop the sir crap." Voight said. "Call me Voight. That's Al or Olinsky. Sir is for when we're in front of the brass."

"Okay... s... Voight." Antonio said. "No, he doesn't know we've been intimate. I'd really rather not have him find out either. He'd probably kill me."

"You're right... and we'd probably help him hide your body." Al said, pulling a banana out of his pocket and began to eat it.

"I get it. What exactly do I get to tell her? My family?"

"Use the cover that Commander Lewis just gave you. You're suspended." Voight leaned back in a chair.

"They'll flip their shit." Antonio said defensively.

Al looked to Voight. "Tell them it's a cover and that's all you can say."

Voight nodded. "We can live with that."

Antonio sighed. "Okay. So... I go home and keep you informed?"

Voight nodded. "Anything suspicious, you call in and report it... if it's an emergency... use..."

"Christmas."

"Exactly. We've heard great things about you, Dawson." Voight added. "You've got the makings of a great Vice, or Gangs detective."

"Thanks." Antonio said. He still had reservations about these two because of their role in the CPD and the rep that the Gang Unit had, but for Josie's sake, he'd do what he needed to, to keep her safe.

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* * *

Josie was pacing around her room. "Has it been 5 minutes yet?"

Gaby looked at her watch. "Yep. You ready?"

Josie shook her head. "No... but I don't have much choice... I need to know."

Gaby put her arm around Josie's shoulder. "I'm here for you."

Together they walked into the bathroom. Josie took a deep breath before picking the three sticks up and flipping them. Facing her were two sets of double pink lines and the third stick had a very blue 'plus' sign. Josie's jaw dropped. "Oh my God."

Gaby took the sticks from Josie's hand. She compared the results to the boxes. "They're all positive."

"I... oh... oh shit... I'm pregnant." Josie gasped.

Gaby help Josie sit on the closed toilet lid. "Breathe, Josie. Breathe."

"I can't... shit..." Josie began to weep. "My dad's gonna kill us... Antonio... oh shit."

Gaby didn't know what to do. She tossed the tests on the counter and hugged her friend tightly. "It's going to be okay. We can figure this out."

 **DING DONG!**

Josie was incoherent. Gaby looked around. "Okay. Stay here. I'm gonna go see who it is." Gaby knew that it wasn't Josie's dad. He didn't have to ring the bell. She prayed that it was just a Girl Guide selling cookies or something like that. Sadly, it wasn't. "Fuck!" Gaby exclaimed as she opened the door. "What are you doing here?"

Antonio looked to his sister. "My girlfriend lives here and according to Mami... she has the flu. So thanks for watching over her... I've got it now."

"Gaby? Who is it?" Josie called from upstairs.

Gaby covered Antonio's mouth. "Shh." She had to think. "It's Antonio." She called back.

This led to a cry of hysterics coming from the bathroom. Being bigger and significantly stronger than Gaby, Antonio pushed his sister aside and ran up the stairs. Gaby was hot on his tail. She was trying to stop him. Josie needed time to process this. She needed to be able to think clearly about her choices before she told Antonio.

It was no use, Antonio burst into the bathroom, sweeping Josie into his arms. "Babe? What's wrong?"

Josie couldn't look him in the eye. It hurt too much. She was terrified of him finding out. Not as terrified though of her dad finding out. She knew that they weren't ready to be parents. She just continued to weep.

Antonio turned back to look at Gaby. "What the fuck is happening here?"

Gaby crossed her arms. "Not my place to say."

"Gaby, tell me what's going on here. She's inconsolable." He snapped. "What the hell happened when I was at work?"

"Better question... why aren't you still at work? Your shift is supposed to be over at 7. It's only 2."

Antonio sighed. "I explain that after you tell me why she's acting as if the world is going to end."

Gaby shook her head. "Nope. I'm going to go heat up some soup for her. She's the only one who can tell you."

Antonio carried Josie out of the bathroom and brought her to her bedroom. He sat on her bed, cradling her against his body. He rocked back and forth, humming softly. He had no clue as to what was going on, but whatever it was, it was serious. Slowly, Josie's sobs faded and she stopped shaking. Antonio kept rocking her. If it worked on babies, it had to have a similar effect on grown human beings too.

"Antonio." She whispered.

"Yeah, baby. I'm here, Jo. It's gonna be okay."

She shook her head. "No... no, it's not. You're gonna hate me."

"Did you kill someone?" He asked.

She stared at him. "No."

"Did you rob a bank? Deal drugs? Sell an organ on the black market?"

"No, no and no." She shook her head. "What's with the really weird questions?"

"Those are reasons for which I could hate someone I love. Since you didn't do any of those things, I don't hate you. I never could." He kissed the tip of her nose. "Ever."

"Before I tell you... can you tell me why you're home 5 hours early?"

Antonio sighed. "I got pulled off patrol to do some work with the Gang Unit."

"You're working with my dad?" She gasped.

"No, no. I'm... I've been assigned to keep a closer eye on you. The crew your dad's in with..." He took a deep breath. He knew he was violating protocol, but she needed to know. She needed to understand. "They suspect he's a rat... if they find out about his family... they'll use you to get to him."

"Oh my God!" She screamed. "It's Murphy's Law. If it can get worse... it does."

"Jo, Josie... look at me. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

"How will they know you haven't been assigned to protect me?"

"Um... I got suspended."

"You what?!" Gaby was standing in the doorway. "You've been on the job for two months and you're already suspended!?"

Antonio groaned. "Gaby... I'm not really suspended... it's a cover... to keep Josie safe. However... I probably will get written up for busting a suspect's jaw."

"Why did you...?" Josie asked.

"He shot my partner. Then he called her a bitch... so I clocked him."

Gaby groaned. "Seriously... ay yi yi."

"Look... Gaby... Josie and I need time here... can you go hide somewhere for a little bit."

"I ain't going far. When she's got the cojones to tell you what's going on, she's gonna need me nearby." Gaby glared him. "I'll be in the next room watching TV."

Antonio stared as his sister took off. "Why do you need cojones?"

Josie swallowed hard. "Um."

"Jo, we swore no secrets. I wasn't supposed to tell you the truth... but I can't lie to you." He pulled her into his arms. "There is nothing on this planet that could make me not want to be with you."

Josie touched his cheek. "Remember that in 30 seconds." She went to the bathroom and came back with something behind her back. "Um... Gaby got these for me... and umm... here." She handed him the three tests.

Antonio took the sticks and looked at the screens. "Are these...?"

Josie nodded slowly. "Pregnancy tests... all three of them... positive."

Antonio sat on the bed. "You're sure?"

"Three tests don't lie... I can do more... Gaby bought me enough..."

Antonio put them on her bedside table. "Come here." He took her hands. "It's going to be okay."

The waterworks started again. "Antonio." She stuttered. "We're not ready for a baby... we're not married... I'm still in high school... my dad... oh God..."

Antonio pulled her into his lap and held her. A baby was a huge shock, but it wasn't Josie's fault alone. He had been there too. "We're going to get through this. Okay? I'm not going anywhere." He held onto her for what seemed like hours.

There was a knock on the door. "Antonio?"

"Yeah, Gaby?"

"Is she okay?"

"She's calmed down." Antonio answered. "You can come in."

The door opened and Gaby slipped into the room. Josie was laying on her side facing her bedroom winder. Antonio was lying next to her, rubbing her back. Gaby sat on the chair in front of Josie's make-up table. "Josie?" She asked.

Josie rolled over. Her eyes were puffy and red. Tears still slid down her cheeks. Antonio brushed them away. He leaned down and whispered something in her ear. There was a small smile that crept across her face.

"Are you going to be okay?" Gaby asked.

Antonio helped Josie sit up. Josie took a tissue and blew her nose. "Yeah. I will."

"Does he...?"

"I know she's pregnant... and before you lecture me... yes, I should've used protection."

Gaby sighed. "What's the plan here?"

Antonio kissed Josie's head. "We're going to keep the baby."

"You sure, Jo?" Gaby wanted to hear it from her.

Josie nodded. "Yeah. We know it's going to be hard... but we'll make it work."

Gaby asked the million-dollar question. "Okay, phew. Now... how do we tell our parents?"

Neither Josie nor Antonio had an answer. Whatever they were going to do, they'd deal with the repercussions when the time came.

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* * *

 **December**

Christmas was a couple days away. Josie was nervous. Antonio and her had gone to a doctor who confirmed her pregnancy and gave her a July due date. They hadn't told anyone else yet. They were going to wait until the three-month mark officially passed before telling their families.

Gaby had gone along with it, knowing that it was better that way. No one could try and force Josie to have an abortion after that point, not that anyone in the Dawson family would even contemplate that idea. Gaby also knew of Antonio's secret plan for Josie on Christmas Eve.

There hadn't been much headway made on the case that Billy was involved in. Antonio got 'reinstated' for part-time shift to guarantee Josie was safe when she wasn't at school. The school had protocols in place to ensure Josie was safe while on campus.

Antonio was headed to the locker room when Billy Fraser grabbed his arm and pulled him into the janitor's closet.

"What the hell?!" Antonio exclaimed.

"How's Josie?" Billy asked.

"She's okay." Antonio answered.

"I heard she had the flu pretty bad last month?"

"Yeah. She got over it. Gaby and I took turns taking care of her." Billy nodded. Antonio could tell he was anxious about something. Anxious or terrified. "Sir, is everything okay?"

Billy shook his head. "No. No, it's not... I've been made... I swear I've been made. They'll go after my baby... I know that... you need to get her out of that house and you need to get her somewhere safe."

"Si..."

"Now! Dawson... go... now!" Billy pounded the table.

Antonio spun around and booked it for his car. He didn't bother to change or anything. He flew through traffic and arrived to Josie's house. Everything seemed normal. He looked at his watch. The girls would be coming home soon. He pulled out his notepad and wrote a note asking Josie to come straight over to his suite when she got home. He was about to stick it to the door when Gaby called to him.

"Antonio!" She waved to him. "What are you doing?"

Antonio turned to face his sister. "Gaby? What are you doing home from school?"

"It's an early day." She said. "Didn't Josie tell you?"

Antonio shook his head. "No. Where is she?"

"At home with Mami. They're decorating the house and baking up a storm." Gaby said. "So... why does it look like you've seen a ghost?"

"Billy came to find me at work today."

"And?"

"He told me to get Josie out of the house. That she wasn't safe."

"Shit."

"He told me to get her as far away as possible. To keep her safe."

"Did you tell him about the..."

Antonio shook his head. "Hell no. I wasn't bringing that up. He needs to focus on bringing these guys down so Josie doesn't have to constantly be looking over err shoulders."

"Well, she's safe."

"Good thing she's got clothes at our house." Antonio sighed. "Let's go. You're gonna catch a cold dressed like that."

"No more than you. Geez... a leather coat and your uniform... you're the one that's gonna catch cold." She shook her head. "Come on, let's go make sure that Mami hasn't gone overboard with the decorations again this year."

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* * *

It was Christmas Eve. Everything was going better than planned. Josie was starting to not feel the morning sickness as much now that she was a little over 3 months along. She had a very small bump that she was able to conceal with the help of baggy sweaters. Once tonight was over, it wouldn't matter anymore. She and Antonio had already discussed what would happen after this semester was over for school. He had also already said that they would have to get their own house soon enough to get ready for when the baby came. Antonio had had to go with his dad to deliver some things to Tiago and Rebecca's for Christmas morning, so Josie took the chance to go home, shower and change for the Midnight Mass and supper they'd be sharing that night. She took out the ultrasound that the doctor had given her a couple days earlier. Antonio hadn't seen it yet. He had been called in. Gaby had gone with her. She looked at the black and white image. It was really happening. She smiled. She remembered when they got to hear the baby's heartbeat the week before. It was the most magical sound in the world. That sound made it all real. This baby and their future together was real and there was nothing anyone or anything could do to change that. They would get their happily ever after, just not in the order she had always planned in her mind's eye.

Antonio and Miguel had dropped off the gifts for the next day. Antonio then dropped his father off at home before rushing to the mall to pick up Josie's gift. He had gotten the call the day before saying it was ready for pickup. He was excited and nervous. He knew this next step was going to be a huge change for them, but there was no one better for him that Josephine Fraser. He ran home, showered and shaved. He got ready for Mass and was about to go pick Josie up from her house when Billy's car came barrelling down the street. Antonio froze and had to jump out of the way as Billy killed the engine and jumped out of the car.

"Where's Josephine?" Billy asked frantically. "Where is she?!"

"Inside... she... she was getting ready for Mass... Is everything okay?"

Billy was shaking. "No! They know I'm a cop... they know about my baby girl... she's in danger. You've gotta get her out of there!"

Antonio ran for the door calling her name. He saw movement in the house as he got to the steps. Suddenly an ear-piercing explosion ripped through the neighbourhood. Antonio was flung backwards into a snow bank. His ears were ringing and his vision was blurry. He tried to push himself up. He looked around him. The Fraser residence was fully engulfed in flames. Antonio tried to move but couldn't. He looked at his leg. It was twisted at a very awkward angle. He was numb. He called out into the night. "Josie! Josie!"

There was no answer. All that greeted his ears was the roaring of the flames and the distant sounds of the fire trucks that were on the way. Everything he had ever love was gone in an instant. Antonio wept for the loss of his love and their unborn child, all at the hands of a merciless gang.

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* * *

 _ **A/N: Yep... I'm leaving it there... until next time! Don't forget to vote and let me know what you think!**_


	4. I Run To You

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* * *

 _ **March 2013...**_

Antonio groaned. He didn't want this assignment. He didn't want to go undercover again. Not with everything that had happened with Laura, and he definitely was tired of asking his parents to help him out. He punched the locker closed.

"Hey, 'Tonio." Jules Willhite came into the locker room. "What the hell?"

"Sorry, Jules."

"What's going on with you?"

Antonio groaned. "Sarge just decided that because it's mostly my CIs getting dosed, I get to go undercover."

"Shit." Jules sat next to him. "Can't they send someone else?"

Antonio shook his head. "Nope. According to him..." Antonio changed his voice. "You're the best UC we've got and that's an order."

Jules tried to stifle her laughter. "Okay, well what can I do?"

"I need help with the kids... this is hard on them." Antonio put his head in his hands. "It's insane."

"I know... I'll see if I can get my sitter to help out... or Alec when he's off."

"I'd appreciate that... I just can't always put this on Rebecca or my parents."

"Hey, I get it. So who are you gonna be this time?" Jules put her hand on his shoulder.

Antonio opened his locker and pulled out a box of IDs that were his go-tos for undercover work. He leafed through it. "Mike Diaz." He pulled out the licence. "Haven't been him in a few years."

"Wasn't he, like, your first cover?"

Antonio nodded. "Yep." He put the ID in his wallet. "I'm gonna go home, kiss my kids and get a good night sleep before doing this."

"Go plan. Need a ride?"

Antonio shook his head. "Nah, my truck's here. Uh... can you be my cover while I'm under?"

"Always. I'm your partner... it's gonna take a lot more than you being UC to get rid of me."

Antonio smiled. "Thanks, Jules."

"Night, 'Tonio... now go home." She shoved him lightly. "Kiss those kids. I'll see you bright and early tomorrow morning."

"I'll text you where I'll be."

Jules nodded. "Get going already."

Antonio headed out to pick up his kids from his parents. This was going to be one of those cases.

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* * *

 _ **The next night...**_

"Antonio, can you hear us?" Jules asked. Antonio coughed into his mic. She took it as the sign that he could. She was crammed into the surveillance van with another cop and their tech guy. They were trying to get dirt on the crew that was trying to move in on the heroin trade. Antonio had caught wind from one of his CIs, Vicky, that they frequented this particular bar. "Anything interesting?"

Antonio's voice came in as a whisper. "Some nurses from Med here celebrating something. One of them's really cute."

Jules shook her head. "Shouldn't you be on the lookout for Lil' Ray or Biz?"

"Well, I ain't seen 'em yet. Maybe you should come in here... so I don't look so damn ridiculous talking to my whiskey."

"Antonio... come on now... you know how this works."

"Hang on... I think I see Biz."

Jules signalled to their tech guy to access the cameras in the bar. "Where, Antonio?"

"He's headed right for the nurses... black and red hoodie."

"Hang on." Jules was looking at the monitors. "Okay, we got him. Just hang back... see what happens." She took a closer look at the nurses. She knew most of them since they worked with her husband, Alec. There was one that caught her attention. She was probably the youngest of the group. She was also the unlucky one as she caught Mr. Hoody's attention. "Zoom in there." Jules pointed to the monitor. "Shit." She recognized the nurse.

She was about to tell Antonio to stand down but it was too late. Mr. Hoody was grabbing the nurse's arm and getting physical. In a matter of minutes, Antonio was grabbing Mr. Hoody. He pulled the hood down and sure enough it was Biz, a mid-level dealer that Antonio had worked for before as part of his cover. Jules watched as the two scuffled about. Finally, Antonio managed to pull Biz away from the nurses and out into the alley. Jules listened in carefully to the exchange between the two.

"Biz. What the fuck, man?" Antonio asked.

"Diaz... it's been a while." Biz said.

"Yeah, well... had to lay low. Got too hot for a while... spent some time down in Miami for a bit."

"So, what you doing back here?"

"I'm back... I need money."

"You asking for a job?"

Jules could only assume Antonio was nodding. She was wishing they had had time to set up cameras in the alley.

"Yeah, Biz. Come on... I always was straight for you... made sure your girls were always well taken care of."

"Yeah... you was one of the best out there."

"Then... let me back in... I can try and help ward off these hot shots I know y'all been getting hit with."

"So, you heard about that crew outta New York." Biz asked.

"It's all over the streets. They been saying you been hit hardest."

"Yeah... yeah... look... I let you back in... you keep an eye on the girls... and you make sure the dope they want and get is strictly mine. Make sure it's the good stuff... I don't want no dumb ass hos dying off because they get hit with that shit outta NYC."

"You got it."

"So... you got claim to that little nurse that you pulled me away from?" Biz inquired.

Antonio replied. "Naw... but... I wouldn't mind getting to know her... she was eyeing me from the bar most of the night."

"Hmm." Biz said. "Well... she's a good girl... she's also my girl... keeps an eye for my gals in Med... treat her right... or else."

"You got it, boss." Antonio said.

"I'll be seeing you around, Diaz."

Jules saw from the van's window that Biz was leaving the alley and going down the street. She sighed. "At least, that's one disaster prevented."

"Yeah, look I'm gonna go talk to this nurse... find out what her deal is."

"You sure you wanna do that?" Jules asked. She knew that particular nurse, and she knew what her deal was. She wasn't dirty, but her story was more complicated one of Tolkien's novels.

"Yep. I'm going off wire now. See you tomorrow." Antonio said before disconnecting from their communication unit.

Jules groaned. "This isn't going to end well." She turned to the other cops. "Keep an eye on him until he leaves. Then, call it a night. I have to go see my kids." She discreetly left the surveillance van and headed to her car that was parked up the street.

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* * *

 _ **Meanwhile...**_

Antonio approached the table of nurses. There were only three left. He didn't know any of them, which was a good thing. He didn't need his cover blown just yet. "Howdy."

"Howdy." The one he had rescued said. "Thanks for... well getting Biz to take a hike."

"No problem." Antonio grinned. "Mike Diaz." He extended his hand.

"I'm Johanna, but my friends call me Jo." She smiled. Her eyes twinkled in the dim bar light as she shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Jo." Antonio smiled.

"These are my friends, Maggie and Savannah."

Antonio shook both of their hands. "You have a particular accent, Jo."

She smiled. "It's unique... I was born here but lived in the South most of my life... moved back here in 2005 after Katrina decimated New Orleans."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"I've made my life here now. I've got great friends... and I'm always willing to make a new one. So, where you from, Mike?" She asked. Maggie and Savannah got the hint of where this was going. Maggie leaned in and whispered something to Jo. She nodded. "I'll see you girls on Monday." She hugged each of them.

"You ladies don't have to leave." Antonio said. "I'm not here to break up girls' night."

"Don't you worry your pretty little head, Mike." Maggie grinned. "We've been trying to get this young thing to talk to a guy... we're glad she finally did. Have a great night... and don't get into too much trouble."

The two other nurses headed to the bar to pay the tab and then left to hail a cab. Antonio turned his attention to Jo. "So, bad break up?"

"You could say that." Jo rubbed her thumb around the rim of her drink.

"Wanna share?" Antonio waved to the bartender to bring another round. "I'm a good listener."

"I bet you are... I'll share... if you tell me how you know Biz." Jo batted her eyes at him.

"I... uh... I work with him sometimes."

"So, you're a dealer?"

Antonio shook his head. "Nope."

"Then what... a pimp?"

Antonio laughed and shook his head again. "Nope." He thanked the waitress for his drink and handed her a $100 bill. "Close out my tab, bring a round of Porn Stars and bring this lovely young woman another one of those... then keep the change."

The waitress grinned and went to make another drink for Jo. Jo looked at Antonio. "Wow. That's mighty generous."

"What's your poison?" He pointed to her near empty glass.

"You'll laugh at me." She whispered.

"I don't think I could."

"I love Long Island Ice Teas." She took a final sip. "What makes you think I'll do a shot with you?"

"Because you want to know more about me..."

"Well... that's true." She took the shot when the waitress returned.

Antonio took his. "To making new friends in Chicago."

They tapped shot glasses and downed the shot. Jo made a face as the Raspberry Sourpuss burned her throat. She coughed a little. "Wow... I haven't done shots in forever."

"I'd say another round, but then I'd be a little too over the top to..."

"So, how do you know him?" Jo cut him off.

"I work protection more or less."

"Ah." Jo sipped her Long Island Ice Tea.

"He says you keep an eye on the girls?" Antonio prodded.

She nodded. "Yeah. I let him know when they come into the ER and stuff. I don't do that shit... but he takes care of me...keeps the others away from my house and kids..."

"You've got kids?"

She blushed. "Yeah... uh twins... They'll be 15 in June."

"You look too young to have 15-year-old twins at home." Antonio said.

"Flattery?" She took another sip.

"Maybe." Antonio finished his drink. "So, you got a ride home?"

Jo nodded. "I drove... it's uh... why I didn't drink as much as the others..."

"Ah." Antonio sighed.

"Why... why do you ask?"

"This will probably seem forward... but I was thinking we've got this connection."

"You sure that's not just the alcohol?" She giggled.

Antonio shook his head. "Nope. You remind me of someone... and that's a good thing... I'd really..."

His sentence was cut off by Jo's sudden kiss. She pulled back. "I don't... I don't normally do this kinda thing... but... you uh... wanna ride?"

"What makes you think I don't have a ride?" Antonio asked.

"No keys... you didn't come in with anyone... so unless you really wanna call a cab..." Her cheeks burned. "Plus, I feel the connection you're talking about."

"I'd like a ride." Antonio smiled. This was his cover, and if she was in with Biz, he needed it to be solid. It wouldn't hurt to see where this went either.

"Then come on." She hopped off the bar stool. "My bike's parked outside."

"You expect me to ride in the basket?" Antonio snickered.

"Not a pedal bike." She laughed. "Come on." She pulled the leather jacket off her chair.

Antonio took the time to take in the beauty that was in front of him. She was about 5'6. Her body was lean but he could tell by the tightness of her leggings and top that she definitely had kids. Her body was supple, womanly. Her hair was almost all black except for the deep purple streaks that swept through the curls. Her hair fell just below her shoulder. Her eyes were a familiar shade of blue-green. They made Antonio do a double take, but he knew it was impossible.

She did up her jacket. "You okay? You look like ya seen a ghost."

"Yeah... just... you remind of someone I knew a long time ago." Antonio zipped up his own leather jacket.

"She musta been somethin' special for you to have that look in your eye." She took a last swig of her drink. "Let's go. You can give me directions on the way."

Antonio followed her outside and around the corner. "You weren't kidding when you said it wasn't a pedal bike." He came to a complete stop. "Damn, Jo."

She grabbed the helmet that was, surprisingly, still on the bike. "You like?"

"Biz know you ride?" Antonio got closer to take a better look at the bike. It was a Harley Davidson Night Rod Special in a vivid metallic blue. It had been customized with black ice rims and Antonio could only guess how fast this baby could go.

Jo nodded. "Yeah, he knows. He's the reason no one touches it... or my helmets." She handed him the other helmet that was on the bike. "Since Maggie found another ride, you can use hers." Antonio put the helmet on. Jo's voice quickly filled his head. "So, where we headed?"

Antonio rambled off the address for his cover's apartment. It wasn't the nicest place but it suited its purpose.

Jo nodded and hopped on the bike. She patted the back of the seat. "Hop on."

Antonio got on the bike. It was different than what he was used to. This was almost a cross between a traditional Harley and a crotch rocket. He wrapped his arms around Jo's waist and leaned into her. "Ready."

Jo nodded and kicked the Harley to life. The engine roared and Jo grinned. "Hang on." She said as she spun the wheel and they sped off into the night.

Antonio held on tightly. She knew her way around a bike and she definitely knew her way around Chicago. She knew short cuts even he didn't know about. It would've normally taken him about 20 minutes from the bar and they got there in half that time. She killed the engine and put the kickstand down.

"You okay there, Mike?" Jo asked, shaking her hair out as she took off her helmet.

"Damn, Jo. Good thing there aren't any cops around here."

"They don't touch me." Jo put her helmet back on the bike. "Biz says he's got an inside guy."

"Makes a lot of sense." He handed her the extra helmet. "So, you wanna come..."

Jo threw herself at Antonio. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply, nipping at his bottom lip. "Yeah..." She breathed. "I would like to... come up."

Antonio was shocked. He wasn't complaining but he wasn't used to women being this forward. He nodded and worked to get the keys from his pocket. He spun her around and while kissing her, helped guide her to the door. He fumbled with the door, and got it open. "Fuck this." He groaned. He swept her into his arms and carried her to the apartment door. His jeans were tight as hell and he wanted to take her right there. He unlocked the door one handed and kicked it in. He put Jo on the ground and quickly took his coat off.

She took off her jacket, flung it aside and pushed him up against the door causing it to bang shut. "Enough talk." She pulled at his shirt, pulling it over his head. She tossed it aside and kissed along his jaw and neck. She pulled at his belt and sent it flying onto the couch. Her hand stroked along the bulge that was ever so painful in his jeans. Single handedly, she undid his jeans and pulled them down around his ankles. She stroked him before getting on her knees and almost swallowing him.

Antonio grabbed onto the door as he was overcome by the sensation of her going down on him. Her mouth was soft and warm. The way she worked him in and out of her mouth almost sent him over the edge. "Uh uh." He groaned. He pulled on her hair, pulling her back from him. He got her up and lifted her from the waist. "Wrap your legs around me." He growled as he smashed his lips against her. He bit her lip, drawling a little blood. He was in a primal state and so was she. He reached up her top and flicked her bra undone. He got to the bed and tossed her on it. He pulled her up and ripped her top and bra off before pushing her back to the bed. He pulled her booties and leggings off and tossed them to the side. The leggings landed on the lamp. He was a little surprised to see she wasn't wearing anything under them. He climbed on the bed and got over her. She pulled him to her and kissed him. He was raring to go and he could tell that so was she.

Jo moaned as he teased her. "Mike, come on... don't... tease... me." She pleaded.

Antonio had to remember he was Mike Diaz, bodyguard for a heroin dealer and pimp, here and not Antonio Dawson, CPD Detective. "You ready, babe?"

Jo nodded. "Hell yeah."

Antonio knew this wasn't going to be soft and gentle. This was just sex. Most likely a one-night stand, but he didn't care. He thrust into her. Jo gasped at his girth. He could feel her tighten around him. He thrust slowly at first, but she upped the tempo. Soon, she wrapped her legs tightly around him and managed to flip him under her. She grabbed at his shoulders and rode him as he were some bronco in a rodeo. His hands flew to grab onto the headboard. "OH, God... Jo."

"Yeah, Mike?"

"Don't stop... just... oh... don't stop." He was done for. He knew it. He grabbed her hips and held her down as both their bodies were hit with waves upon wave of orgasmic pleasure.

"Mike!" She called out as her orgasm caused her to almost buck off him. "Fuck... oh..." She rolled off him. "Hot damn."

"That was..." Antonio was trying to catch his breath.

"Amazing." Jo finished.

"Come here." He whispered hoarsely. "Unless you're one of those wham, bam and you're out the door kinda women?"

Jo shook her head. "No, sir." She curled up against him and lay her head on his chest. She was shaking.

Antonio pulled the blanket over them. He kissed her cheek. "Stay... you can leave when it's light... and when you can move again."

She nodded weakly. "Sounds..." She yawned. "Like... like a plan."

Antonio looked down and saw Jo was sound asleep. He lay his head on hers. Even if this was a one-time deal, even if he never saw her again... tonight was a night that he'd never forget.

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* * *

Around 6, Jo's cell started squawking. Antonio groaned. He grabbed it and turned it off. Jo turned to face him. "Who was that?"

"Telemarketer." He said in all seriousness. "Figured, you and I could..."

Jo nodded and kissed him, her hand wrapped around his neck, pulling him closer. Antonio's body reacted instantly. She moaned as his erection poked into her back. Antonio grabbed one of her legs and lifted it. He slid into her from behind, bringing them even closer. Jo gasped in surprise. She'd never done it this way, but it felt damn good. It didn't take long before they were both covered in a sheen of sweat and moaning each other's names. Jo's body went rigid as she came. Antonio gasped as she clamped down around him. He lost it, burying his face in her hair. They collapsed against the bed.

It took a few minutes for them to regain the breath and their minds. Jo's breathing eased first. "What time is it?"

Antonio looked at his bedside table. "Quarter to seven."

"Shit!" Jo exclaimed. She tossed the blanket aside and bolted out of the bed.

Antonio sat up. "What's the rush? It's the weekend."

"My son has guitar lessons in half an hour and I'm about 15 minutes from my place and my place..." She pulled on her leggings. "Is 20 minutes from his guitar instructor." She pulled on her bra and shirt and went to the bed. "Thanks... for a great night... I'll... uh... see ya around." She ran out the door grabbing her coat on the way.

Antonio was speechless as she slipped out the door. He didn't even have time to grab pants as he heard her Harley roar to life and take off. "Damn! I shoulda got that plate number." He sighed. He was up now, so he headed for the bathroom and a cold shower to shake off the animal urges he felt about that Southern Belle.

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* * *

Jo got home, grabbed her SUV's keys and called up the flight of stairs. "Xavier! Let's go."

"Coming, Mama." He ran down the stairs. "You didn't come home last night."

"Stayed with a friend, sweetie. It was late when we left." She kissed his cheek. "Did you eat?"

"Yes, Mama. Guitar's in the Escalade... can we go? ... We're gonna be cutting it awfully close."

"I know." Jo groaned. "Come on." She ran to her Escalade, a perk of being involved with Biz and floored it out of the garage and down the street.

They arrived at Xavier's lesson with a minute to spare. He ran to the instructor's house. Jo waited for him to get inside. She grabbed her cell and checked who had actually called when she was with Mike. "Fuck." She pounded the steering wheel. She hit redial and waited for the call to be picked up. "Yeah... sorry... yeah, he's at his lesson. Meet at the same coffee house? Be there in 5." She ended the call and backed out of the instructor's driveway.

In 5 minutes she was sitting at her favourite café in Wicker Park waiting. Soon enough, Jules Willhite appeared and sat at her table. "Sorry about missing your call."

"Where the hell were you, Jo?" Jules signalled to the barista who knew her regular order.

"Biz showed up... then this other guy, Mike Diaz got him away from me because Biz was on some trip..."

"Woah, Mike Diaz?" Jules looked at her. "That's the guy's name?"

Jo nodded. "You know him?"

Jules groaned. This had just gone from bad to hell in a matter of seconds. She was working two separate cases with two different partners and now they'd gotten mixed up together. Jules was going to have to keep both of them in the dark. At least, for now. "Yeah... he's... he's one of our CIs." Jules fibbed. "He's getting us info on this new gang out of New York... they're getting all up in everyone's business... and well, a close friend of mine... his CIs are hookers getting hit with this shit... we sent Diaz in to try and see what Biz knows since it's his show too." It wasn't far from the truth.

"Okay, so in other words, don't arrest his ass?"

"Preferably not." Jules went and got her coffee when the barista called her name. "So what happened with Mike?"

"Uh... well... we had a couple drinks... then I went to his place and had the most mind blowing sex I've had in years." Jo didn't even blush.

Jules almost choked on her coffee. "You did... what?!"

"We had sex. One-time deal."

"Jooooo..." Jules groaned. "What... oh my God... what if Biz finds out?"

"He won't." Jo sipped her coffee. "I'm not his property... this is all a cover."

"I know... but Biz thinks you're his woman... he's going to have an issue with you sleeping with his hired gun."

"It's fine. I doubt Diaz is gonna rat me out anyhow."

"Not if he values his life..." Jules mumbled. "Okay... so question for you."

"Shoot." Jo nibbled at the Danish she had gotten for her breakfast.

"What happens after we take Biz and this whole gong show down?"

"Whatta ya mean?"

"You going to stick to full-time nursing? Or full-time policing?"

"I like my deal. I get to be the eyes and ears of the CPD in Chicago Med. I'm fine with this arrangement."

"What happens when people find out who you really are?"

"Not going to happen. I've been living this life for almost a decade. No one but you and a couple other people know the truth."

"Jo... the longer you play this charade... the more likely you are to slip up."

"Jules... it's been a long time... I'm not about to go back to that."

Jules shook her head. "They'll figure it out eventually."

"Look, only you and the Brass know... and it's staying that way."

"Fine." Jules threw her hands up. "Fine. It's your show. If I were you, I'd consider making the permanent career choice... nurse or detective... it's too risky playing both roles."

"I'll take it into consideration. As for now," Jo looked at her watch. "I have to pick Xavier up and get home and change. Biz wants to take me out tonight."

"Be careful."

Jo got up and hugged Jules. "I will. Just, get this guy so I can go back to my regular life. Xavier's already making comments on how he doesn't want some banger as his step-dad."

Jules laughed. "I know. We're working on it. Get going and give that kid a hug from me."

Jo nodded and headed out. She sighed. She knew she was in a dangerous game, but she had to do it this way. It had been this way since before Xavier and his twin sister, Zoë had been born. She knew that it would take as long as necessary to bring this crew down and things could start going back to normal.

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* * *

Antonio was wiped. He'd been undercover over a month now. He barely got to see Eva and Diego. He caught wind of another working girl who'd gotten hit by the bad dope. Gaby and Firehouse 51 had responded. They'd managed to save her but just barely. He grabbed his bag and headed over there. He needed to give them a head's up so they could keep an eye on the situation. He knew they'd just be getting on shift at this point so it was the best time to get them all. He walked into the house. Everyone there knew him, especially since he'd helped Matt Casey get rid of a pest of the CPD. Voight was sitting someone in Statesville and Matt had been free to live his life without constantly having to look over his shoulder.

"Antonio." Chief Boden approached him. "What's... uh, what's going on?"

"Don't worry, Chief. Voight's not the problem this time."

"Thank God for that." Boden smiled. "What can we do for you?"

"Need to talk to your guys... about some of the bad dope hits you've had to deal with."

"Got it." Boden was about to call them all together when Kelly Severide stepped in. He'd been gone a little over a month to recover from an experimental surgery done on his neck to regain use of his shoulder and arm.

Antonio leaned on one of the Squad's chairs to wait for the happy reunion to be done. Once the welcomes were done, Boden called everyone's attention to Antonio. "Okay everyone, some of you may know Gaby's brother, Detective Antonio Dawson. He has some information from the CPD for us."

"Thanks, Chief." Antonio stepped into the ring of firefighters and paramedics. "Last few weeks, I've seen a spike in fatal overdoses. M.E's office has connected at least a dozen deaths to a toxic batch of heroin. Now be aware, it's laced with fentanyl and in most cases won't react to the normal protocol of naloxone. We are now approaching each overdose as a potential homicide..." He was cut off by the station alarm calling Ambulance 61, Truck 81, Engine 51 and Squad 3 to a structure fire.

They all headed to their trucks. Antonio took off after Gaby who was headed to the ambo. "Hey, Gaby. You're on the front lines on this thing."

"Yeah, I'll look into it." Gaby pushed her hair behind her ear.

"See, that's exactly what I don't want you to do. The crew that's pushing this bad dope... they don't mess around."

"As opposed to all those amicable drug dealers out there?" Gaby replied sarcastically.

"I'm serious." Antonio pleaded. "Be careful. Don't go Gaby on this."

Gaby climbed into the ambo. "Hey, you look like hell." She smiled to him as she closed the door.

Her partner, Leslie Shay, put the ambo into gear and hit the lights and sirens.

"Good morning to you, too." Antonio sighed. This was going to be a long case. He watched as his sister flew off to be a hero while he shook his head and headed back to his car. This case was dragging out and the longer it did, the more dangerous it got.

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* * *

Antonio was busy going over his CI files trying to find someone who could help him get this new gang off the streets of Chicago when his cell began to ring. He looked at his CPD phone and it wasn't the one ringing. It was his UC phone. "Diaz." He answered.

"Yo, I thought I told you to keep an eye on my bitches!" Biz shouted over the phone.

"Woah, Biz. I'm working on it."

"If you're working on it, why did Johanna just call and tell me Natalie and Victoria are both ODs at Med? Natalie's dead and Victoria's just hanging on."

Antonio punched the wall. "I'm heading to Med now. I'm gonna find out where they got the dope."

"You better, or else it's you I'm comin' after."

Antonio ended the call and punched the wall again. His knuckles were throbbing. He'd already asked Gaby to lie for him since he'd lied to everyone about where he had been the night before. Now one of his best CIs that he'd gotten clean was dead. He grabbed his keys and headed to Med.

He burst into Med and asked for Victoria's room. He found the room and started in on her. "Hey, Victoria! It's me! What the hell happened?! It wasn't enough for you to hit this junk on you own? You had to bring Natalie back into it!? She was clean! I told you to stay away from her!"

Suddenly, Gaby grabbed his arm. "Antonio!" She pulled him away from Victoria who was now sobbing in the hospital bed. Gaby led him to the back of the ER and pushed him against the wall. "What's the problem?!" When Antonio tried to walk away from her, she grabbed him by the shoulders and pushed him back to the wall. "Hey! What the hell's going on?"

Antonio sighed. "There's this new crew outta New York. That's been pushing their way into prostitution, looking for a cut of everyone's action. Those who don't pay... their girls are getting hit with bad dope. That's what's going on. That's who I'm trying to bring down... And I'm trying to get close to these animals but it's difficult when my informants keep getting spiked left and right!"

"Okay. Alright." Gaby tried to calm her brother down. It wasn't any use. "I get it, okay? But I've never seen you like this before... not since... not since Josie..."

"Don't! Gaby, don't you fucking dare bring her into this!" Antonio snapped. "This is... this is nothing like that."

"You're starting to worry me a little bit. You're keeping secrets from your boss. You're asking me to lie to mine."

"It's different being a cop than a paramedic, Gaby. There's a little more to it!" He stormed off.

Gaby just watched her brother stomp out of the hospital. She was really scared for her brother right then. The last time he went off the deep end like this, Josie and their unborn baby had been blown to smithereens on Christmas Eve 16 years earlier. He had committed himself to the CPD so much that he shot up the ranks then went and married a woman who didn't really love him. Gaby loved her niece and nephew but their parents' marriage was the biggest mistake Antonio had ever made. She went back to join Shay and head back to the house. She just prayed Antonio wouldn't go and do something stupid.

Jo watched the scene from afar. Mike was back in the ER and he was ripping into Biz' girl Victoria. Then the paramedic went and started ripping into him. She had to admit that Mike and the paramedic looked a little alike. She shook her head. That was impossible, she knew Gaby. Gaby's brother was a cop in Vice, there was no way that was him. She was going to go talk to Gaby when a call button alarm went off. She sighed and went to check on the patient in the back room. She'd have to talk to Gaby some other time about how she knew Mike.

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* * *

 _ **The next day...**_

Gaby was busy getting ready to go meet with Stephanides to see if he'd take the offer Herrmann, Otis and herself had come up with. She was going to go through with Med School and maybe this bar would be enough of an extra income to get her in the door. She was also still waiting to hear from Leslie to know if Clarice had had the baby. She sighed. "One thing at a time." She headed out to meet Herrmann and Otis.

The paperwork didn't take long to sign. She was now a part owner in a yet to be named bar. She was excited. Now she was going to head over to Med to check on Clarice, Leslie and the baby. She was hoping that everything went okay. Shay hadn't been answering her phone. That had to be good, right? She pulled into the parking lot and tried to call Leslie again. "Oh my God... you're not answering. I hope that's good news. Um, I'm in the parking lot. I'm sorry I'm late. Be there in a sec." She left the voicemail. She put her phone away just in time to see Antonio storming from the ER entrance. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

He brushed passed her. "Hey."

Gaby grabbed him by the arm. "Hey, Antonio, what's wrong?" He had that look in his eye again. She got in front of him and put her hands on his chest, forcing him to come to a stop.

"The girl you brought in? The OD?"

"Yeah... Victoria."

"She bolted." Antonio's voice was almost to the point of breaking. Gaby could hear the hopelessness in it. "Nobody's seen her for at least an hour." His breathing was ragged and he was acting like a caged animal at the zoo looking for an escape.

"Alright, well, What's... what's up?"

"The D.O.A. was my informant for years... and I was... I was gonna start over with Victoria and now she's gone."

"Antonio," Gaby grabbed him. "You need some rest, okay? You're barely making any sense. Let me take you home." She didn't know he was still undercover, but she wouldn't have cared. He needed to sleep. He looked like death warmed over.

"I gotta go." Antonio spun around her to head to his car.

Gaby was shaken. She sighed. There was no way her big brother was going to listen to her. Not today. He was clearly somewhere else, and Gaby just prayed that it wouldn't get him killed. She turned to head back to the hospital and go check on Shay.

She stopped in her tracks when she heard an engine roaring and tires squealing on the pavement. She turned around and watched in horror as a black SUV rolled to a stop where Antonio was unlocking his car. Three loud pops echoed in the parking lot as three bullets hit Antonio. No sooner had they shot him, they were peeling out of the parking lot. Gaby started to panic. "Oh God! Oh, God! Antonio!" She raced across the parking lot to her brother as he collapsed against his car. "Antonio!" She was whimpering when she got to him. He was losing so much blood. "Antonio! Oh, God! Oh, God! Come on. Come on! Oh, GOD!" She pushed pressure on the wounds, trying to staunch the bleeding. The blood kept pouring through her fingers. "Somebody help! Help! Somebody!" She called out. It was no use. They were alone in the parking lot. "Hold on. I got you. I got you. You're gonna be fine." She tried one last time to scream. "HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"

Antonio was losing too much blood. One of the bullets had hit his axillary artery. Gaby pulled off her gloves and tried to stop the blood from squirting everywhere. "Try not to move." She told him. "You're gonna be fine. You're gonna be fine." She turned at the sound of an ambulance's horn honking. She saw Ambo 73 leaving the ambulance bay. She didn't have a choice. She ran after it, leaving Antonio, who was still bleeding, against his car. "Hey! Hey! Stop!" She tried to get one of the two paramedics attention. She needed their help. It didn't matter that she was wearing heels. She sprinted across the parking lot and park into the street. She was waving her arms like a mad woman. "Stop!" She screeched as she threw herself in the ambulance's path. The ambulance just stopped short of hitting her. She banged on the hood, leaving bloody handprints in her wake.

The driver rolled down his window. "What the hell?"

"My brother... he's CPD... he got shot in the parking lot. I can't move him. Please." She pleaded. "Help me."

The driver nodded. Gaby hopped onto running board and held on as they drove back into the parking lot. They quickly loaded Antonio onto a stretcher and wheeled him into the ER. They were quickly met by one of the trauma docs. "Gunshot wounds to the abdomen and left chest. Exit under the arm caught the axillary artery."

Jo was just gloving up when she saw Mike laying on a gurney, three bullet holes in his chest and gut. She went to cry out but what Gaby said next stopped her in her tracks.

"He's my brother. I'm going into the OR with you."

"Can't do." The doc replied. "Now." He motioned to were Gaby's finger was jammed in the hole.

Gaby glared at him as she pulled her finger out. Blood gushed from the wound. Jo jumped into action when the doctor called out for a monitor. She grabbed the monitor and followed them into Trauma Room 4. Gaby stood back and watched as her brother was wheeled away from her. Her world was crashing down around her. She began to weep.

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* * *

Jo was in shock. The man with him she'd shared a very passionate night with wasn't a CI at all. He was a CPD Vice Detective. She began to mutter under her breath and she followed the doctor's orders. She began to cut Antonio's clothes off. Two of the bullet wounds weren't too bad, but the one that had caught the artery was going to take a little more than a Band-Aid to fix. He had lost a lot of blood. She grabbed two bags of O-neg blood and started a second large bore IV. They needed to get the blood back in him because his pressure was plummeting. She got the blood and saline going. She watched at the doctor spread his ribs to pull the bullets. Normally, this would be done in an OR but there wasn't any time. Once he was stabilized, they rushed him up to the OR. She stayed behind to clean up the mess that was Trauma Room 4. She sighed. This was more complicated than it ever had been.

She snapped her gloves off and headed to the ER desk. She saw Maggie going through some charts. "Hey, Maggie?"

"Yeah, Jo?"

"Can I take my break?"

"Yeah, go for it. You look... well... like hell." Maggie said honestly.

"I think I've got the flu."

"Do what you can. If you gotta go home, go." Maggie nodded.

Jo took off and grabbed her cell on the go. She dialed Jules' number. "Jules... 911... meet me at Med."

Jules didn't even get to reply. Jo ended the call. She needed to get pulled out. This was beyond screwed up. Jo ran to their meeting place on the roof. She was shaking by the time Jules met her there.

"Jo! What the fuck is going on!? You've never used 911."

"Did you know that Mike Diaz is really Antonio Dawson?" Jo demanded.

Jules' eyes bulged. "What?"

"You lied to me, Jules. You told me Mike was actually a CI... he just got wheeled into the ER... Three bullets in him... Gaby was there... she told the doc he was her brother."

Jules' heart was racing. "What do you mean?"

"Jules! Snap out of it!" Jo slapped her. "Mike isn't a CI... he's a UC detective...your PARTNER!"

Jules stumbled back. "Fuck."

"Yeah." Jo was furious. "Fuck doesn't even begin to cover this."

"Jo... I couldn't tell you."

"Bullshit!" Jo screeched. "I've been under for over a year with this. I needed to know. Biz may very well have been the one that shot him because his girls kept getting dosed!"

Jules groaned. "I'm not the one who decided this shit, Jo. You know that."

"Well, now our case... the one I've been under for... is fried. I need out."

"Jo... we need to bring Biz in."

"No. I'm not putting my kids or my life on the line anymore. I'm done."

"Jo... what the hell is really going on here?"

Jo leaned against the ledge. "Remember I told you about that night... when I met him... the crazy wild sex?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm pregnant. Only person I've been with is him. I start showing, Biz is going to know something's up. He thinks I'm his girl... he finds out I'm pregnant... he'll kill me."

Jules' jaw dropped. "JO!"

"No, Jules. You don't get to yell at me. What I do undercover is what I do to survive... but now I've got a baby... with Antonio... not Mike. Mike is a fictional person." Jo walked from the ledge. "You're gonna get me out and that's that."

"It's not that easy... especially with your position here at Med."

"I'm not about to play dead again." Jo put her foot down. "Never doing that again."

"Then we have to arrest Biz and his crew... otherwise, you'll always be a target."

"Can't I just dump his ass and say I got pressured by the cops?"

"Could work... but still dangerous. Especially since you're pregnant."

"Right now, I'm freaking out about who the father is."

"Well... I'm sorry!" Jules groaned. "I couldn't say anything."

"Well, now I'm in a bind."

"How so?"

"He's married, Jules. I'm not dumb. Antonio Dawson is the legend of the CPD."

"Laura's dead, Jo." Jules broke down. "Has been since 2006."

"What?!" Jo's jaw dropped. "How come I didn't know about this?"

"You never asked... you wanted nothing to do with him." Jules said.

"What about his kids?"

"You'll have to ask him... when you decided to tell him the truth."

"What did he think I was?" Jo countered.

"Whatta ya mean?"

"I mean... what did you tell him I was in this game?"

"He was told the same thing I told you... I told him you were my CI that had gotten in close with Biz... that you were untouchable."

"I don't know how I'm supposed to tell him the truth."

"I'd figure it out... even once he's back to active duty... He'll make visits here."

Jo groaned. "I hate myself. I shouldn't have fallen for him."

"Jo, you're human." Jules pulled her in for a hug. "I know this is hard... but you've got to stick this out a little longer."

"What if he recognizes me... knows that I know he's a cop?"

"I recommend staying away from him... for now." Jules rubbed her back.

Jo could feel the tears fall. "I can't believe this is all happening again."

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* * *

 _ **A month later...**_

Antonio had been released from Med a week after the shooting. He was on at least a month, if not two, of medical leave so he could do physio on his shoulder. He was enjoying the time off. It meant more time with his kids. He got to watch Eva and Diego play soccer, then like a true Dominican, baseball season was upon them. Diego was a diehard fan of the game. Antonio loved being able to watch his kids laugh and smile. This was much better than when he woke up and found out that Gaby had gone to Voight to get the low down on the crew that had almost taken him out. It was also better than hearing Diego and Eva crying to their grandparents that they didn't want to lose their dad too. That alone had broken his heart.

He swore he had seen Johanna, Biz's girl, a couple times, but he knew he would be dead if that had been the case. All of Med knew who he was. She had to know now if she had actually been there. He was busy making supper when Diego came running to him.

"Dad." He was out of breath.

"What is it, buddy?"

"Jules is here."

"Okay... uh, here... toss the salad with the dressing then get your sister to help set the table. I'll be right back." He wiped his hands on the dish towel that was next to him and went to see what his partner wanted. He got to the door.

"Antonio." She greeted him.

"Jules. What's up?"

"I, uh... I've got news."

"What's up?"

"Well... remember all that talk about that new Intelligence unit?"

"Yeah. I made the request to join it after I got shot." Antonio said.

"It's being made."

Antonio's eyes grew. "So..."

"We're both in."

"That's awesome." Antonio hugged his partner. "Who else?"

"No one yet." Jules answered. "Just us... they're looking for someone to head it up."

"Any idea on who they're eyeing?"

Jules' looked away.

"Jules! Who are they eyeing? Belden?"

"No clue... but I have other news... Voight's getting out... the key witness... Curtis...he's dead."

Antonio almost died right there. "No... not happening."

Jules' phone dinged. She read the message then passed Antonio the phone. "It just did."

Antonio groaned. "Fuck!"

"Daddy?" Eva's voice came from the kitchen. "You okay?"

"Yeah, Eva." Antonio called back. "Everything's fine... start with the salad... I'll be right there." He turned back to Jules. "He's gonna come after Gaby... I know it... ever since he helped her to save me."

Jules nodded slowly. "Gaby already called me... he wants to meet her."

"Oh hell no!" Antonio closed the door behind him. "Give me his number... I'm gonna meet him."

"Antonio... what are you going to be doing exactly?"

"I'm gonna make sure that son of a bitch stays as far away as possible from Gaby and the rest of my family. I'm the one who owes him... not anyone else."

Jules texted Antonio Voight's cell number. "Don't do anything stupid, Dawson."

"Don't worry, Willhite." Antonio patted her shoulder. "Thanks for the heads up."

"Go eat your dinner with the kids. We report to Intelligence first thing tomorrow."

Antonio nodded and headed back to enjoy supper with his children.

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* * *

Antonio was finally able to get a hold of Voight a week later. He had arranged a meet outside a shop on Damen Avenue. He was leaning against the car drinking his coffee when Voight pulled up in a Chrysler 300. Antonio walked away from the car and got on the sidewalk. He signalled to Voight to get out of the car. "Come on."

Voight got out of the car and slowly made his way over to Antonio. It was odd for Antonio to see Voight in a suit and tie. Then again, Antonio had just lost the suit and tie he'd wear in Vice for more street clothes that was the go to for Intelligence.

"Why you calling my sister?" Antonio asked Voight.

"I got an Ethics Panel over at the I.G.'s here in a little bit. I was looking for some character references." Voight's voice seemed to have gotten raspier since Antonio had sent him to Statesville.

"Not her. You helped me out of a jam. I don't dispute that, but if you got a favour you need done... you come to me. Man-to-man and leave her... out of it."

Voight changed the subject on Antonio. "I hear you left Vice."

"What about it?"

"Working in that Intelligence Unit here in the district?" Voight took a step towards Antonio, but Antonio put his hand up and took a step back.

He didn't want Voight near him. He still hadn't forgiven him for what he'd let happen to Josie or Billy Fraser. He couldn't forgive him for going after a fireman and his doctor fiancée.

"You got backbone, Antonio." Voight smiled mischievously. "You've always been an aggressive cop. I respect that."

They just stared off at each other. Voight laughed lightly before heading back to his car. He waved at Antonio as he took off. Antonio just cringed. He headed back to his car to head back to the district. He needed to fill Jules in on what just happened.

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* * *

Gaby was busy cooking with Peter when Kelly rushed into the main part of the house and told them all that Voight was back on the job. Matt instantly flew off the handle. Gaby knew he had every reason to get pissed. Voight had tried everything in his power to intimidate Matt into not testifying against Justin, Voight's son. Voight hadn't been able to accept that his son, while driving under the influence, almost killed a man and his son. The end result of that had been the hockey player son was left paraplegic.

"God, has the world gone crazy? What the heck's going on?" Peter Mills aked.

Gaby responded. "Well, they'll just plop him somewhere behind a desk, right? Let him collect a paycheque for nothing. I mean... if I'm CPD, that's what I'd would want."

"That's got nothing to do with it." Matt said. He was pissed all right. "It's what Voight wants."

Gaby whispered. "Damn it! Maybe I should've just played ball with him."

Peter jumped to her defense. "No! Absolutely not."

"But, now... I'm on his enemy list?" Gaby countered.

Everyone went silent. They knew this was a lost cause. Matt had said it. Voight always got what he wanted. He wasn't going to be behind a desk, and they hadn't seen the last of him, yet.

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* * *

Later that night, Gaby was waiting for Antonio to show up. It was the soft opening of Molly's tonight. This was a big deal. Soon the place was full and loud. Firefighters, paramedics, cops and strangers alike filled Molly's. Gaby was proud of all the hard work they'd put into this. It was a risk, but one of the best risks possible. She knew they would succeed.

Leslie almost tackled Gaby while she was clearing glasses off the bar. "I can't stop thinking about Tara being promoted?"

Gaby smiled. "Oh, she is a bureau bitch now. We're never gonna see her."

"Oh, if I do... I'm gonna drop her." Leslie said. She was taking this whole 'Kelly being accused of sexual assault' thing extremely personally. "Not joking."

Gaby just had to laugh. She knew Shay would do that, but it wasn't liable to happen. Kelly was safe and Tara would never be seen again. Her smile faded as she saw Matt and Hallie come into the bar.

Shay followed her glance. "When did that happen?"

Gaby had obviously forgotten to tell Shay that Matt and Hallie had made up since Hallie had come back from Doctors Without Borders. Gaby put on a brave face and replied. "Good for them."

Shay didn't buy it for a minute.

Gaby walked away to go see Antonio. She wanted to pick his mind on this whole Voight thing. The door opened and everything stopped.

Voight stepped into Molly's. It was like a bad punchline to a joke.

Antonio kept Gaby back, but Voight still had a clear line to Matt and Hallie.

Voight was smiling. "Wow! It's a nice place." He turned to Herrmann. "Congratulations." He then turned to Boden and greeted him. "Chief." Voight caught on very quickly that he wasn't welcome. "Listen, there's been a lot of bad blood between cops and firemen in this district. Since we're all going to be working together, I wanna be the first to put it all behind us." He pulled a wad of cash out of his jean pockets and started counting out a large amount. "This round's on me."

Gaby faced Antonio. "So... what was that about?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"What?" Gaby insisted.

Antonio sighed. "He was promoted to Sergeant, and he's running the Intelligence unit."

"You're in the Intelligence Unit."

"Don't I know it."

Gaby was in shock. Her brother had locked Voight up. He had hated Voight for close to 16 years. Now, he was stuck working for the man. Antonio turned back as Voight went to speak to Matt and Hallie. Voight had just started in the Gang unit when shit went down with Josie, and now Antonio was going to be spending every shift working with Voight. At least, Gaby knew that Jules would always be there for him. She stood back and watched the interaction between Matt and Voight. Matt was cold as ice as Voight extended his hand in peace.

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* * *

Antonio had been in Intelligence for a month now. Things were settling in nicely. He was at his desk when he got a call from a Detective he knew from Vice. "Dawson."

"Antonio? Hey, it's Jay Halstead."

"Yeah... hey, Jay. How's it going?"

"I need your advice, man." Jay said. "Got some intel, but I need someone with a little more experience than me to make sure I'm doing this right."

"Yeah, yeah." Antonio wrote a note to stick on Jules' desk. "I'll meet you at Matador's."

"Be there in 5." Jay said before ending the call.

Antonio grabbed his coat, stuck the note on Jules' desk and headed out to meet Jay. It didn't take too long to get to Matador's. Jay was pacing outside. "Hey, Jay!" Antonio waved as he headed towards the gym.

"Hey, 'Tonio." Jay greeted him. "So, we've got a lot of intel on this Arthur character. He's part of a board up crew that runs around Bucktown." He handed Antonio the file.

Antonio leafed through the file and froze. "He boarded up this bar?" He held up some pictures.

Jay nodded. "Yeah. It's owned by some of the firefighters down at 51."

"Including my sister." Antonio groaned. "Okay, so what's your question concerning this Arthur character?"

"I need someone to be my backup if I go undercover... my partner thinks I'm chasing ghosts, but I'm thinking this guy's got 50 shades of shady going on."

"So what you're asking is for me to back you up to your sergeant to let you go under cover with this crew?"

Jay nodded. "You're a legend in Vice... trust me... if you say you're backing me... they'll have to let me go under."

"I'll back you... but one condition... you don't ever tell my sister you're a cop."

"You got it. Thanks, man."

Jay shook Antonio's hand and headed around the block to his car. Antonio headed to his car and went back to 21 to put a call into Jay's sergeant.

By the end of shift, Antonio was beat. He wanted to go home and have a hot shower and make supper for his kids. They were both almost done the school year and they were ready for summer. Antonio couldn't say he was, but if it meant his kids were happy, that was all that mattered. He parked his car in his driveway before walking across the street to his parents' house. They hadn't moved. Rebecca and Tiago had moved in with them and their 3 kids to take care of an aging Liliana and Miguel.

He looked over to where Josie's house had once stood. He still could hear the flames from that night. Billy had rebuilt the house and stayed there until he was killed in the line of duty. What happened with the ownership since, Antonio had no clue. Someone was living there. His hand reached for the dog tag that Josie had given him for his 21st birthday. He still wore it. It had pissed Laura off to no end. He went to the door and rang the bell. He smiled as he heard his mother chittering at Eva and Diego in Spanish to clean up before they left. Some things never changed.

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* * *

Jo was tired of this UC assignment. She was even less thrilled since it involved having her son in harm's way. Luckily for her, he was at baseball and she'd dumped Biz. Now all she had to do was wait for Vice to make the arrest and she could move on. She was in the middle of preparing supper when there was pounding at her back door. "Coming!" She called. She had no idea who would be using the back door. Only Jules really used it. She opened the door. "Biz?" Her jaw dropped. "What the hell? How... how did..."

"How did I find the bitch that dumped me? Or how did I find out you was a cop, in deep cover?" Biz shoved her to the ground. "Huh? You seriously think I wasn't gonna find out?"

Jo's eyes widened in fear. "No... Biz... I have no clue what you're talking about..."

Biz's hand instantly made contact with her cheek, sending her reeling. "I know all about you, Johanna... or do you prefer Josephine?" He grabbed the knife of the counter. "Bitch, you about to get what's coming to you."

Jo, fearing for her life and the life of her unborn child ran screaming from the kitchen. Biz was faster. He grabbed her ankle as she tried to run up the stairs. Jo tripped and fell. Her ankle was throbbing. There was no way she could run. She was going to die right here. Biz swung the knife down, and she rolled out of the way. The knife missed her by a matter of a few centimeters. She was crying. She was terrified.

Biz's eyes widened when he saw that she had a small bump forming in her belly. "You knocked up?" He slapped her again. "Who did you step out on me with, huh, bitch!?" He hit her again.

"No... no one!" She wept.

He hit her again and again. Her arms went to defend the baby and not her face. The blood from a cut above her eye was blurring her vision.

"Bullshit! I can't have no kids! Who!? Who was it!?"

Jo did the only thing she could think of. Tell the truth. "Mike..." She wept. "Mike Diaz."

"That son of a bitch!" He kicked her in the ribs. "He's lucky he's outta Chicago..." He stopped when he heard movement in the front entryway. He wasn't about to get caught. He hit Jo hard in the head and ran off out the back.

Jo tried to move but it was no use. She could barely breathe and her vision was blurry. The world was spinning around her. She could hear the door open. She tried to call for help, but her voice refused to work.

"Mama?" Xavier's voice echoed. "Mama?"

Jo could hear him put his baseball equipment on the floor. "Xav..." She tried to call out. She coughed instead, a burning pain radiated from her ribs.

Xavier was worried. His mom always at least answered him when he came home. He grabbed his bat and headed to investigate. He knew she was home. Her bike and her SUV were in the driveway. He checked the kitchen and noticed the mess. His mother was a stickler for cleanliness in the kitchen. He knew something was wrong. He went into the family room and that's when he saw her. "Mama!" He dropped the bat and ran to her. "Mama... Mama... what happened?!" He gently lifted her head into his lap. She was barely conscious. She was bleeding and that's when he noticed that she had been hiding something from him for the last little while. Xavier wept. "Mama... hang on. Hang on!" He reached into his pocket and dialled Jules' number. He had been given it only for emergencies, and this definitely counted. "Jules... I need your help... it's Mama."

"Xavier... what happened?" Jules tried her best to stay calm.

"I got home from baseball... she didn't answer. I went looking and the kitchen's been trashed... she's bleeding, Jules. I'm scared. She's not... she's not talking."

"Okay... bud, I'm gonna send an ambulance. You stay and keep doing what you're doing. Okay?"

Xavier whimpered. "Okay." He tossed the cell phone to the ground and held onto his mother, praying that help would arrive soon enough to save her and the little brother or sister he hadn't known about.

Jules hit her speed dial. "Antonio?"

"Yeah."

"Where are you?"

"My parents... picking up the kids... why?"

"Run next door... it's important."

"Jules, what the hell are you talking about?" Antonio didn't know how Jules knew his neighbour.

"I'll explain later, but it's life or death... get over there! Now!"

Antonio closed his phone and looked to his mother. "Keep the kids here... I need to go check on your neighbour."

Liliana nodded.

Antonio vaulted over the deck railing and tore across the front lawn. He saw that the front door was open. He pulled his gun. He carefully pushed the door open and called out. "Chicago PD!"

He made his way around the entry way. He could see that something had happened. Pictures had been knocked off the walls and there was a shattered vase on the ground. He came upon a young man, about 15 or 16, cradling the body of a battered woman on the stairs. "Hey!"

The kid grabbed the bat that was next to him. "Who are you?" He shouted.

"I'm Detective Antonio Dawson." He lifted his shirt a little to show the badge on his hip. "Who are you?"

"Xavier... Wait... did you say Antonio Dawson?" Xavier lowered the bat.

Antonio holstered his gun. "Yeah. Do we know each other?"

Xavier nodded. "You don't know me... but I know all about you... and my mom."

Antonio scratched his head. "Who's your mom?" He approached the scene very carefully. He didn't want the kid to bolt. He looked at the woman in Xavier's arms. His jaw dropped. "You're Johanna's son?"

"Her name isn't Johanna..." Xavier wiped his tears on his sleeve. "Her name is Josie Duplessis... you knew her as Josie Fraser."

Antonio froze in place. "What did you say?"

"Josie Fraser..."

"Josie's dead... I watched... I watched the house blow up."

"She's right here... which makes you... my dad."

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* * *

 _ **A/N: Okay, so... you probably all saw that coming... but... now what!? Let me know what you think.**_


	5. I Won't Let Go

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 _"She's right here... which makes you... my dad."_ Antonio could hear those words echoing in his head. He looked between the unconscious and seriously injured 'Johanna' and Xavier. They were definitely mother and son. "What?" He asked.

"Josephine Fraser…" Xavier pointed to the woman in his arms. "Is my mother's real name… she changed it before we were born."

"We?" Antonio's head was spinning.

"My twin sister, Zoë and me." Xavier was shaking. "Look, right now, all I want is help for my mom. Jules said she was calling an ambulance."

"Jules… Jules Willhite?"

"Yeah… she was working with my mom. Please… I just… I can't lose her." He went back to holding his mother. "I didn't even know she was pregnant."

Antonio was frozen in place. His Josie was alive? She was living across the street from him? He had twins? She was… "Wait, wait, wait… she's pregnant?"

Xavier pointed to Josie's abdomen. "Unless she put on a bunch of weight and hid it from our family… she's pregnant."

Antonio leaned against the wall. He was shaking. He was overwhelmed by all of this. It couldn't be true, could it?

"Chicago Fire Department!" Gaby's voice rang out. "We're here to help."

"In here!" Xavier shouted. "It's my mom… please help her."

Gaby and Shay rushed into the room. "Xavier!" Gaby exclaimed. She looked down. "Oh my God! Jo!"

Shay pushed Antonio aside and helped Xavier get Josie onto the gurney. "Antonio… if you ain't helping us… get the fuck out of our way." Shay shouted.

Xavier followed Shay giving her all the details he could about his mom. Gaby grabbed Antonio by the arm. "'Tonio… what the fuck!?"

"Jules… she… uh… she called me… told me to get over here… I was next door picking up the kids."

"Okay… then what?"

"Then… I bust in here… the kid, Xavier… he grabbed a bat… I told him my name… then… he told me that Johanna's name isn't really Johanna… that it's Josie… then he told me I'm his…"

"Antonio!" Gaby slapped his cheek. "Snap out of it. That is Josie… look… it's complicated… but it's her. I gotta get her to Med."

Antonio was still in daze. Gaby pushed by him and ran to the ambo. She hopped in the back and closed the doors. Antonio snapped out of it as he heard the sirens pull away from the house. He turned on his heel and ran to his driveway. He was going have to explain this somehow, later. For now, he hopped in his car and floored it towards Med, dialing Jules as he went.

"Antonio."

"Jules… do not bullshit me now!" Antonio barked. "Is Johanna really Josie Fraser?"

"Antonio…"

"Yes or no!? Damn it!"

"Yes." Jules sighed. "I'm almost at Med. Xavier told me that's where they were headed."

"I'm heading there too. You and me… we're gonna have words, Jules."

"I know… Antonio… I'm sorry."

Antonio shut his phone and tossed it on the seat. Getting to Med was taking too long for him. Right now, he needed answers.

* * *

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* * *

Xavier was pacing outside the trauma room. Maggie had let him stand there because she worked with his mom but he needed to know that she was okay.

Gaby saw him pacing. She left Shay to tend with the gurney and supplies, while she went to talk to him. "Xavier… hey… Xavier." She put her hands on his shoulders. "Hey… I know… I know." She pulled him into a hug. "I know."

"Tia Gaby… I'm scared… why… what did Mama do wrong?"

"I don't know, buddy… I don't know. Here, let's sit… as soon as they know something… they'll come… I promise."

Xavier nodded and wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Gaby held his hand.

"For telling… Antonio…" The name felt foreign on his tongue. "That he was my dad."

"Sweetie, you did what you had to… to protect your mom."

"I just… I don't know… I didn't know what to do…" Xavier cried on his aunt's shoulder.

Gaby was comforting him when Jules appeared around the corner. Gaby shook her head. Jules sighed and sat on the other side of Xavier. Together, they tried to keep him as calm as possible until they got some news about Josie's condition.

Antonio rushed into Med and saw Shay. "Shay… where is she?"

"Trauma… look… Antonio…" She grabbed his arm. "Don't go rushing in there, guns blazing. I'm pretty sure there's a damn good reason as to why you didn't know or what's really going on, but you're gonna have to let them explain."

Antonio shook her off his arm. "Look, Leslie… I need answers to questions I've had since 1997… I don't need you or anyone else to tell me what I have to do."

"Antonio!" Leslie called after him as he stalked off to the Trauma section of the ER.

Jules could hear Antonio coming. She signaled to Gaby. Gaby whispered something to Xavier and got up with Jules to go stop the rampaging Antonio.

Gaby got to him first and put her hands on his chest. "Whoa, bro… chill."

"No! Gaby… I will not chill!" He snapped. "You knew?" He stared at his sister and his partner. "You both knew?!"

They nodded slowly. "Yeah, Antonio… we knew."

Antonio punched the wall. "How could you?! Why didn't you tell me?!" His voice was drawing all sorts of attention.

Jules and Gaby grabbed him and dragged him to a room away from the majority of the patients. Gaby pushed him into a chair while Jules locked the door.

"Antonio… you need to calm down." Jules said softly.

"The hell I do!" Antonio exclaimed. "For the last 15 years… I thought the woman I loved and our unborn child were dead… I watched the house they were in blow up… Hell I got a fucking concussion and broken ribs from the force of the explosion! I buried an empty coffin because there wasn't anything left in the house once the fire was out." He broke down and wept. "I lost everything… I became someone else because I lost them… and now…" He glared at them. "Now, you're telling me they've been here this whole time?!"

"Antonio… it's not that easy!" Gaby jumped in. "Do you know what she's been through? What your children have had to go through? Do you know anything?"

"No! Because you didn't let me! Because no one let me!" Antonio sobbed. The anger, the guilt and the sadness he had felt all those years ago came back and hit him all at once. "I lost everything!"

Gaby went to him and pulled him into a tight embrace. She let him weep on her shoulder. "Bro, I'm sorry… I'm so sorry."

"Why didn't she come find me? Why… why didn't anyone tell me she was alive? Why didn't anyone tell me I had twins? That they were healthy, happy?" He wept.

"Because they were put into protective custody." Jules whispered. "They couldn't do anything."

Antonio broke down and slid to his knees. He wept fiercely. Everything he had ever planned with Josie had been thrown out that Christmas Eve. He remembered standing with Dixie and Billy burying the empty casket. He remembers weeping at the loss. He went to the gravesite every week. He put flowers there, no matter how hot, or cold it was. He spent hours talking to an empty grave, telling them how much he missed them, the things he had wanted them to see. He could see the tombstone in his mind's eye. _'Josephine Johanna Fraser-Dawson & Baby Dawson- Forever in our hearts'._ Her parents had found out about the baby during the investigation and he had told them his plans to marry her. They agreed to put it as though they had been married. They knew that her death had been hardest on him and that he was guilt-ridden. He had blamed himself; still did to this day.

There was a knock at the door. Jules opened it and headed out, leaving Gaby to tend to her brother. Jules followed Maggie to the waiting area where Xavier had begun pacing again. Jules took Xavier's hand and together they followed Maggie to the elevators.

"So, we got Jo stable. Um… the baby is okay, but the docs want to keep her in an induced coma to make sure that the swelling in her brain goes down. It'll also help her heal."

Xavier whimpered. "Is she going to be okay?"

Maggie stroked his arm. "Yeah, Xavier. She's gonna be okay. This is just to protect her and the baby."

"You know, she never told me about the baby." He sniffled. "Why wouldn't she do that?"

"I don't know," Maggie gave him a hug. "I don't know."

"I hope it isn't Biz's baby."

"It's not." Jules said before realizing that Josie wasn't going to want it out there who the baby's father really was.

"Jules?" Xavier and Maggie looked at her.

"I shouldn't have…"

"Who's the dad?" Xavier asked.

"I think that's up to your mom to tell you when she wakes up."

"Jules… who is it? Please?"

Jules groaned. She was in between a rock and a hard place with a boulder hanging above her head. She sighed. This was going to be out in the open soon enough. "Your dad."

"My… wait… my dad? What?" Xavier shook his head. "Mama said she hadn't seen him since we got back from New Orleans. She told me and Zoë that he wanted nothing to do with us."

Jules shrugged. "This is going to get more confusing and complicated before we have clear answers."

Maggie was lost. She led Xavier and Jules to a private room where Josie was lying. She was black and blue.

"She looks so small." Xavier whispered. He knew his mother wasn't a big person to start with but lying like that in a hospital bed, she looked like a fragile, little doll.

Maggie touched his shoulder. "Xavier, I know this is a lot… and that it looks scary with her hooked up to so many tubes, wires and machines… but that's there for us to keep an eye on her."

"Can I see her?" He asked.

"Oh, sweetie… of course." Maggie slid the door open. "You can hold her hand… talk to her. We'll be right here."

Xavier took a couple tentative steps into the room. He turned back to look at Jules. She nodded and signaled to him that it was ok. He took the final steps and headed into the room. He sat in the chair next to her and took her hand.

Maggie turned to Jules. "What the fuck is going on around here?"

"Long story."

"Give me the Cliff Notes." Maggie crossed her arms.

Jules groaned. "Okay… so 1997, Josie Fraser was deeply in love with Antonio Dawson… He was fresh out of the Academy and she was graduating High School… He was 21, she was 17 and they got pregnant. Fast forward to Christmas Eve… her house blows up when Antonio was going to rescue her. Her dad had been made and the gang he was infiltrating blew up the house to send him a message. Really, Josie Fraser left Chicago and went back to New Orleans under protective custody. She changed her name to Josie Duplessis and gave birth to twins, Xavier and Zoë. 2005, Katrina hits. By this point, Josie had gotten her nursing degree but had gone into NOPD as a detective. She came back to Chicago because the man she thought was her father was dying… and Katrina was coming full speed. She packed up the kids and headed here. She joined CPD and used her middle name instead to prevent Antonio from finding out the truth. Mainly because she found out that he had moved on. She is a Vice detective. She's been working here as a cover, but because she's formally an RN… it works. She can do both. She kept tabs on the girls getting brought in or any ODs on new drugs out there."

"So… she's playing both fields?"

"No… she was here as a nurse to genuinely help people… but she did provide information for the CPD too. Helped bring down a couple heroin and meth rings… as well as saved some girls from a sex trade ring."

Maggie looked into the room. "Does Xavier know the truth?"

"Josie never hid the truth from them. Their legal name is Dawson. They've always known that Antonio is their dad. They've been interacting with Gaby for the last little while. Antonio's parents know the truth. Josie went to tell Antonio… but Laura answered the door… 5 months pregnant with Diego."

"Shit."

"Yeah… Josie took the hint and just kept raising their twins on her own."

"Dear Lord." Maggie gasped. "I'm gonna have security post someone up here. Xavier told me that he's worried whoever did this will come back."

"I've got a couple UCs that are coming up to watch over her. But any help you can give is going to be great."

Maggie nodded. "Does Antonio know anything?"

"He just found out… and he's not taking it well."

"I could tell that much." Maggie sighed. "Hey, look…" She pointed towards the elevators.

Jules turned and saw Antonio getting off the elevator. She turned back to Maggie. "Um… I have to talk to him… can… can you just make sure Xavier and Josie have everything they need?"

"You bet." Maggie went in to check on them while Jules went to stop Antonio from making a scene.

"Antonio… I will tell you… but you… you gotta stay as calm as possible… otherwise… security throws you out."

Antonio nodded. "Is she okay?" He asked weakly.

Jules took his arm and led him to a family waiting room. She closed the door and sat down. "Antonio… sit."

"I… I … I can't." His voice was shaking.

"Okay. Where do you want me to start?"

"The beginning." He said.

"Okay." Jules was about to start when there was a commotion outside.

Antonio took off and went to see what was going on, Jules was hot on his heels. They arrived to see Xavier getting pulled out of Josie's room by Maggie. He was sobbing. Doctors and nurses were in the room as the alarms were sounding. Maggie was trying to comfort Xavier.

Antonio's heart dropped when he heard Xavier cry out. "Don't let her die!" He ran towards the room. Whether or not he had been lied to for all these years, but deep down, Josie was still his world.

"What's going on?" He demanded.

Maggie looked up. She whispered. "She started coding."

Antonio turned back to watch the scene. His heart sank as they shocked her body. He watched in horror as the nurse started pounding on her chest. He watched them push medication into her IV. The doctor stopped them and shocked her again. He could feel the tears building up. He looked back to Maggie. "You do whatever it takes to save her."

Maggie looked to Xavier. "He can't be alone."

"I'll…" Antonio didn't realize what he was saying until he said. "I'll watch him."

Xavier looked up at him. "I can take care of myself."

"Hey… Xavier…" Antonio reached for him.

"You didn't want to know about us before… why should you care now?!" Xavier screamed at him. He took off down the hall and Antonio just stood there.

"Go after him!" Maggie shouted at Antonio.

Antonio took off down the hall after Xavier. "Xavier! Come back!" It didn't take long for Antonio to catch up to him. He had collapsed to his knees by the elevators. Antonio came to a halt a few feet away. He didn't know what to call Xavier. Everything in his body was screaming that Xavier truly was his son. He also couldn't forget hearing the words that he had shouted at Antonio. That Antonio hadn't wanted to know about him. If he had had the chance, he would've done everything in his power to be a part of his children's lives. Even if he couldn't be with their mother. "Xavier."

Xavier looked up at him. "Go away."

"I can't do that." Antonio knelt in front of him. "Xavier, look at me… please."

Xavier looked up at him. Right then, Antonio knew everything that he had heard from Gaby, Jules and Xavier himself was true, Xavier was his son. "I couldn't protect her… now… I might lose her. Zoë isn't here… neither is Mimi."

"Who's… who's Mimi?"

"Mama's mom."

"Oh… well where are they?" Antonio asked in a soothing voice.

"Umm… I don't know if Mama would want you to know." Xavier whispered.

"Okay… let's focus on the here and now…" Antonio said. "I know that… we don't have any relationship… and I'm not sure what you've been told… but until your mom is awake… I'll keep you company… okay?"

Xavier nodded. "Is she going to even wake up?"

Antonio nodded. "She's got the best doctors and nurses taking care of her. She's going to be okay."

"Did… did you know about the baby?"

Antonio shook his head. "No. I didn't know."

"Jules… she said that you're the dad."

"I met your mom again… when she and I were both undercover. Neither of us knew who we really were… and well… I guess the result is that baby."

"Will… will you be a part of our lives now?" Xavier didn't want to push things. He had wanted to have his dad in his life for the last decade. Now, he had that chance.

"I want to be, yes… but I have a feeling that your mom's going to have a say in that." Antonio was sitting in front of him.

Xavier threw himself in his father's arms. Antonio was caught off guard but he hugged him. "Can… can… we… go check on…?" Xavier's voice was shaking.

"Sure." Antonio helped him up and together they went to check on Josie.

* * *

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* * *

A week passed by and there still wasn't much change in Josie's condition. Antonio spent most of his time at the hospital keeping an eye on her and checking up on Xavier. He hadn't told Eva and Diego anything yet, but his mother was keeping care of them. He had been more than a little pissed off when he had found out that not only had Gaby been on this big secret, but so had his parents. He was getting a soda from the vending machine when Gaby jogged up to him.

"Antonio."

"Hey, Gaby." He said as he pulled the bottle from the machine.

"Antonio… come on… talk to me."

"I haven't gotten any answers, yet. Gaby… answer me this… how long have you know that she was alive?"

Gaby sighed. "Antonio, come on."

"No… answer me."

"I've known since she came back in 2005… I was the one who told her where you lived."

"I never saw her come to the house."

"That would be because Laura answered the door. She was 5 months pregnant with Diego… she must have recognized Josie or something because she told Josie to stay dead to you."

Antonio wanted to punch something. Laura had been gone since 2006. She had always been a jealous woman, but forbidding Josie was seeing Antonio? That would make sense considering everything that had happened in the last 8 years. "So, you've been a part of their lives?"

Gaby nodded. There was a sadness in her eyes. "Yeah… we wanted to tell you… but Josie… she didn't want to ruin your marriage. She never let me or Mami talk about you. She knew about your kids… that was it. I never got to tell her about Laura's accident."

"Hmph." Antonio grunted. "Look, I have to get back to Xavier and Josie. They were doing tests."

"Is she getting any better?"

"They don't know. They pulled her out of the coma… but she's not waking up."

They walked together to the room. Xavier was pacing outside. He saw Gaby and ran to her. "Tia!"

She hugged him. "Hey, Xavier."

"Tia?" Antonio asked.

"Isn't that Auntie in Spanish?"

Antonio nodded. "Yeah."

"Then, she's Tia."

Antonio was still overwhelmed with this. "Okay. Is the doctor still in there?"

Xavier nodded. "It's taking a long time."

Antonio could see the worry. "Have you tried calling your Mimi?"

"Yeah… she and Zoë will be here as soon as they can."

"Still can't tell me where they are?"

Xavier turned to Gaby. She nodded that it was okay. "They're in Paris."

"Paris… like Paris, France?" Antonio's eyes bulged.

"Yeah… um…"

"Your daughter is a cooking wunderkind." Gaby jumped in. "She got a chance to go to a special cooking exchange program in Paris… Josie insisted she take it… Dixie went as her guardian."

"She's 14."

"Yeah… but Antonio… let's worry about Josie… for now." Gaby pointed to the room.

The doctor came out of the room and slid the door closed. "Antonio, Gaby, Xavier." Alec Willhite greeted them.

"Alec." Antonio shook his hand.

"Jules filled me in… I understand that this whole situation is more complicated than normal… so I'll fill you guys in."

"Is Mama gonna be okay?"

"Every test we've done has come back normal."

"Then why is she still unconscious?" Antonio asked harshly. "Sorry, Alec."

"It's okay, Antonio… I get that this is tough… the only thing we can come up with is she's going through something in her mind. The brain… that's one area that is hard to predict. All we can keep doing is wait and see…"

"Thanks, Alec." Antonio said. "What about the baby?"

"Well, our OB says that she's about 4 and a half months along. Baby's growing well… heartrate is normal."

"Was it hurt during the attack?"

Alec shook his head. "No. Josie shielded the baby with her arms and that's where she got the most injuries."

Antonio breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God."

"You guys can go in and see her." Alec slid the door open.

Xavier didn't hesitate and headed back into the room. Gaby and Antonio thanked Alec again and went into the room. They stood back to let Xavier be with his mother. Antonio was physically in pain seeing Josie like this. Her face was still swollen and bruised. She wasn't intubated anymore but she was still on a nasal cannula. She was kept on a heart monitor and IV. Her left arm was in a sling from the dislocated shoulder she'd suffered from defending herself. Antonio let the silent tears fall as he prayed that she and the baby would be okay and that somehow, he'd be able to do right by her.

* * *

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* * *

Josie felt like she was in some horrible dream. She felt like she was locked in some cage, unable to more or speak. Significant moments from her past flashed before her.

 _January 1998…_

"Are you sure?" Dixie asked her again.

"Yes, Mama. I'm pregnant… Antonio's the father and he thinks I'm dead!" Josie screeched. "I want to go home… I want to be with him… raise our babies together."

"Babies… plural?"

Josie pulled the ultrasound from her purse and shoved it in her mother's face. "Yes! Twins. The doctor had told me the day before this shit happened… I was going to tell him that night… but no! Instead, I get picked up and put on a plane. Then I hear there's an explosion and supposedly… I'm dead."

"Josie… it was the only way to keep you safe!"

"Antonio was keeping me safe."

"He knocked you up!" Dixie was losing her patience.

"He didn't rape me, Mama… we made the choice together. I'm almost 18."

"You'll probably just be 18 the day those babies are born." Dixie had a strong craving for some Bourbon.

"So? You were 19 when I was born!"

"Yeah… well… I didn't want you going and doing what I did."

"I don't care… I'm having these babies… I'm raising them on my own and when I can… I'm going back to Chicago. Antonio has the right to know… they're his babies too!"

"No. You're never going back there. I don't care." Dixie stomped her foot. "I have to go to Chicago and bury an empty coffin… I have to live this lie… I'm not about to have you ruin it because you can't see the bigger picture!"

 _June 1998…_

"Ahh!" Josie screamed. "Mama! It hurts… it hurts so much."

Dixie grabbed the cold cloth and patted Josie's face. "I know, baby… I know… It'll be over soon."

"That's what you said last night." Josie groaned, leaning against the pillows.

Dixie looked at her watch. "If you have these babies tonight… they'll be your birthday gift."

Josie looked at her.

"It's your birthday, baby." Dixie pushed Josie's bangs from her eyes. "I know… I know I've been hard on you… but… I was so worried about you… and now… you're gonna be a mom and… you'll understand…"

"Mama…" Josie clenched her teeth as another contraction hit. "Mama, I know that this… is…" She focused on her breathing that she had learned. "For our own good… I just… I just wish he was here… they… promise me that I ca… Ahhh!"

Dixie ran from the room. "Nurse! Someone!"

A nurse came running down the hall and into Josie's room. "What's going on here, cher?"

"They're coming in faster… harder…" Josie gasped. "I think… I think I may… have… wet myself."

The nurse came over and checked the monitor. She then lifted the sheets. "Darlin', that was your water breaking… baby #1 wants to come now."

"But… I… Ahhh!" She cried out, her breathing was becoming ragged.

The nurse hit the call button on the wall. "Don't worry, cher… it's okay. We've got you."

A bunch of other nurses and the doctor came rushing in. The doctor quickly checked her. She nodded to the nurses who began to pack things up. "Josie… it's time… these babies are ready… we're gonna take you to the delivery room now, okay?"

Josie nodded. "Can… Mama come?"

"Sure… she can help you focus on your breathing." The doctor nodded to Dixie. "Come on, let's get everybody ready."

Dixie took Josie's hand. "It's gonna be okay. I'm here."

"I'm scared."

Dixie kissed her forehead. "That's normal… I was scared too."

Thirty minutes, and an epidural, later, Josie had delivered a perfectly healthy baby boy. The nurse laid him on her chest as the doctor checked on the second baby. "He's beautiful." Josie whispered.

"Look at all that dark hair." Dixie exclaimed. She gently stroked his tiny hand. "He's perfect."

The nurse smiled. "10 fingers and 10 toes. He's healthy. Now, I gotta take him to weigh him and clean him up… then I promise, I'll bring him right back to you."

Josie nodded. She leaned against the pillows. She was exhausted. "Do I push again?" She asked the doctor.

"Not yet… not all twins are born minutes apart… sometimes they're born a couple hours apart… you've gone back down to 6 centimeters. That's normal. We're going to keep you here and we're gonna wait until that little one's brother or sister decides to join the party."

"Will he get to stay with me?"

"Sure thing… if you want, you'll be able to try nursing him." The doctor patted her hand. "I'll be back to check on you, and Cecilia, here, will stay with you to help you and to let me know when you're ready to push again."

"Thank you." Josie smiled. "Oh… that epidural doesn't make all the pain go away."

Dixie had to laugh. "No… sadly it doesn't… but hey… you've got a healthy baby boy. What are you going to name him?"

Cecilia reappeared with the baby. "Here you go mommy." She gently laid him in Josie's arms. "He's a healthy 5 and a half pounds and 20 inches."

Josie cradled her son. "Hi. Oh… he's so small."

"He's healthy." Dixie whispered.

"He does need a name, doesn't he?" Josie looked to her mother.

Dixie nodded. "He does… we can't keep calling him 'baby'."

Josie looked at him. His head was covered with dark hair like Antonio's. "Xavier."

"That's a strong name." Dixie said.

"Xavier Luc Dawson."

"Josie…"

"It's his father's name… he has the right to it." Josie said.

"What about your name?" Dixie asked. "You're not 'Dawson'."

"No… but it doesn't matter."

Dixie knew she wasn't going to win. Instead she looked down at her grandson. "Hi Xavier. I'm your Mimi."

"Mimi?"

"I don't want to be grandma." Dixie laughed. "I'm too young."

"Whatever you…oh!" Josie exclaimed.

"Pain?"

"No… just… I don't know." Josie said. She looked to the monitor. "Oh… I think the… uh… labour started again."

"If it gets too much…"

"I'm okay." Josie said. The epidural was working. She barely felt anything. She was in awe of her son. "Xavier… Mama will always be here… no matter what." She whispered to him.

"Can I hold him?" Dixie asked.

Josie nodded. Dixie carefully lifted him from his mother's arms and gently rocked him as she sang him a lullaby. He yawned a little and fell asleep. Dixie looked back at Josie. Josie had been so tired from being up the past day and half that she was resting. She wasn't going to wake her. She'd need all her strength for when it came time to deliver Xavier's twin.

A couple hours later and it was time to push again. Cecilia had taken Xavier to the nursery. "As soon as his brother or sister is here, I'll bring him right back."

Josie had nodded. Dixie was holding her hand and helping her focus on her breathing. It didn't take long before Josie had a daughter.

"A beautiful little sister for Xavier." The doctor announced. "She's healthy."

Josie could tell as soon as her daughter began to cry, that everything was going to be okay. Soon, she and Dixie were crying too.

"You did it, Josie." Dixie kissed her forehead. "They're beautiful."

Cecilia had taken the baby to clean up and weigh. She quickly reappeared by Josie's bed. She laid her in Josie's arms. "Five pound even… and 18 inches."

"She's smaller than her brother." Josie said. "She has the same dark hair though."

"Daddy has dark hair?" Cecilia asked.

Josie nodded. "He does."

"They're beautiful… congratulations." Cecilia patted her shoulder. "And happy birthday."

"Thank you." Josie wept.

"I'll go get Xavier. Then we'll move you all to your room." Cecilia left to go get Xavier.

"What are you going to name her?"

"Zoë." Jes smiled. "Zoë Christina Dawson."

Dixie was so proud of her. She knew Josie would be an amazing mom. She also knew that this was going to be a hard road ahead.

Later that night, Josie was alone with the babies. They were both asleep. Josie lay back against the pillows and wept. "Antonio." She cried. "Antonio… I wish you were here."

* * *

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* * *

Antonio had sent Xavier home with Gaby to change and get a little rest. Jules had gone to the school to deal with his absences. Antonio was alone in Josie's room. She hadn't woken up yet. He took her hand. "Josie… I'm here… I'm here." He rubbed it gently. "I'm sorry… I'm sorry I didn't come looking for you… or… be there for you and the kids… Baby… forgive me." Despite all the anger and betrayal he felt, he couldn't hold it against her, not anymore. He still loved her. He wanted her back.

"Antonio…" Josie's voice was hoarse. "Antonio… I wish you were here."

"I am here, Jo… I'm here." He didn't know what was going on, but she was talking. That had to be something.

The rest of what she was saying came out as mutters and it was unclear. Antonio just stayed and held her hand, something he wished he could've done for the last almost 16 years. She wasn't waking up, but she was talking. He took that as a good sign.

"Antonio." Someone's hand shook his shoulder gently.

Antonio forced himself to wake up. He didn't even realize he had fallen asleep. He wiped his eyes. He looked at Josie. She was still unconscious. He looked over his shoulder and jumped out of his chair. "Dixie."

"Gaby told me you were here."

"When did… when did you get in?" He asked.

"Late last night. Zoë is with Xavier and Gaby. I told them I wanted to come talk to you." Dixie pulled up the other chair next to his. "Sit."

Antonio sat down.

"You have a lot of questions."

"I do." He swallowed the lump that was forming in his throat. "I've been in the dark since that night."

"I know. Antonio, I wish I could say something to make the pain or betrayal you're feeling any better, but there isn't."

"Can you tell me, at least… why?"

Dixie looked at her daughter. "It was the only way we could keep her safe." Antonio was hurt, Dixie could see that. "I know what she meant to you… probably still means to you… but after that incident with Billy… then the threats… I… we didn't have a choice?"

"Was Billy in on it?"

Dixie shook her head. "No. He didn't know until, well… until he was on his death bed. The CPD brass had made sure of that."

"Why did… on his?" Antonio was trying to understand all of this. "What?"

"Billy… he didn't find out Josie was still alive until he was on his death bed… after that concussive blast destroyed his liver in 2003… they wanted to see if Josie was a match to donate part of her liver… but… not only had he not been told that Josie was alive… we found out that Josie wasn't his biological daughter."

Antonio's eyes bulged and his jaw dropped. "What!?"

"I'm not proud of it… but when Billy and I first got engaged… we had a fight because I had caught him with another woman… she was a CI but I hadn't given him a chance to explain… so I went and slept with some other guys… not my best moment… we made up… then we found out we were pregnant. I had always assumed that Josie was his. He had B-positive blood… I'm O-negative and so is her father because Josie is O-negative."

"Shit."

"Billy forgave me, saying he never deserved to have a daughter or wife as caring as we were… we were there until the end. He left the house to me and I gifted it to Josie to protect her identity and the kids."

"She was at his memorial."

Dixie nodded. "I told everyone she was my niece that had come with me to keep me sane."

"I remember." Antonio said. He flashed back to that day. "She had contacts in… because her eyes were brown… and her hair was the same shade of black that is today."

"Antonio… I know you have to be beyond pissed off and betrayed… but know that Josie always wanted to tell you… she never wanted to leave you behind. She and I fought it about it so much. When the kids were born… she insisted on having them carry your last name. You are their father on their birth certificates."

A tear fell. "I am?"

Dixie nodded. "You are. She told them about you every chance she got. She kept all their Father's Day crafts from school… she said that one day, they'd be able to give them to you. Despite what your wife told her… she never gave up hope that your children would get to meet you… know you."

"I… I… I don't know what to say." Antonio whispered. The emotions were so overwhelming. "I prayed that everything I had been told was a lie… that she was always alive… that my child was safe."

"I can't give you back these lost years… but when Josie wakes up… I hope that you guys can make something work… for the kids."

Antonio nodded. He turned to Josie. She was still unconscious. "Think she can hear all this?"

Dixie touched her daughter's cheek. "I'm sure she can. I just want her happy again. She hasn't truly been happy since we got her out of Chicago."

"Dixie, I swear to you… I want nothing more than that for her… Uh… can… we …" He nodded towards the door.

Dixie kissed Josie's cheek and followed him into the hallway.

"I haven't gotten to telling her the truth about Laura."

"Does she need to know?"

"Yeah, she does." Antonio sighed. "I know that Laura is the reason I never knew she was back in town… that I had two children already…"

"I see." Dixie sighed. "What does she have to say now? I noticed you don't wear a wedding ring."

"She's… she passed away back in '06."

"I'm sorry, Antonio."

"It's fine… I've… I've been able to move on… better than I did from losing Jo. I never got over that."

Dixie took his hand. "Antonio… give this time…"

"Do you know she's pregnant?"

"What? No."

Antonio sighed. "We were both undercover… I didn't know it was her… she didn't know it was me."

"Are you telling me… that… you're the father?" Dixie leaned against the wall.

Antonio hung his head. "Yes, ma'am."

"Does Josie know who you really are?"

"She does now. My partner… Jules… turns out she's also been working with Jo."

Dixie sighed. "Okay… this is going to be challenging no matter what. Let's just take this one day at a time." She looked at her watch. "The kids are going to be here right away, Gaby's bringing them… do… would you like to meet your daughter?"

"I do… but will she want to meet me is the question?"

Dixie pointed behind him. "Antonio, I'd like you to meet Zoë Christina Dawson… your daughter."

Antonio spun around. Zoë was the spitting image of her mother. She had the same curls in her hair that Josie had back then, but her hair was black like his. Her eyes were the unique blue-green as Josie. She had the freckles across the bridge of her nose like Josie, but her skin was more tanned like his own and she had some of his mannerisms. He could tell that by the way she gestured with her hands while she was talking with her brother and Gaby.

"Zoë, this is…"

"I remember the pictures." Zoë stepped forward. She was a little taller than Josie, but she was of the same slim build as her mother. "Hi… Dad."

Antonio nodded. "Hi Zoë… Umm… can… can I get a hug?"

Zoë nodded and threw herself in his arms. "Xavier told me how you've been staying… taking… watching out for him and Mama."

Antonio nodded. "It's the least I can do… right now." He held her tightly. "There is so much… so, so much I want to ask you… to tell you… and we'll have time… there's no more hiding." He signalled to Xavier to join them. He held both his children. "I'm not losing you guys again."

They both nodded and wiped away some of the tears that were running down their faces. "Any news?"

"Um… she was talking a little… almost like she was sleep talking… the doctors said that she and… and the baby are doing good."

"Xavier said… that… the… the baby… you're its dad too?"

Antonio nodded. "Yeah… but we have so much to catch up on… but… for now… go in there… sit with your mama… tell her you're okay. I'll wait out here with your Tia Gaby."

They nodded and headed into Josie's room with their grandmother.

Gaby joined Antonio and looked in. "How you holding up?"

"I don't know, sis… I don't… It…" He sighed. "I have four kids now… another one on the way… three of them… I didn't know existed until a week ago."

"Antonio… I'm sorry." Gaby put her arm on his shoulder. "I really am."

"You didn't have a choice… she didn't have a choice… no one… had a choice."

"Once she wakes up… you guys will have all the chances and time in the world… I don't think the Brass or anyone else is going to stop you anymore."

"Did… did Josie tell you that Billy Fraser wasn't her dad?"

Gaby nodded. "Yeah. She did. Her mom couldn't tell her who her real dad is… she's been living in the dark about that… but I think the one thing she felt guiltiest about… was not being able to tell you the truth."

"What makes you say that?"

"Because… I saw the letters she had written to you… I heard the pain in her voice whenever she spoke about you to the kids. The pain in her eyes whenever someone brought you up. All of it."

"Letters?"

"Yeah… Jules has them… they're… they're for if something were ever to happen to her… for you to know the truth."

Antonio turned back to look at the kids. "I'm gonna have to talk to Eva and Diego about all this."

"Yeah… they have a half-brother and a half-sister… they should know them."

"What if they hate me for this?" Antonio asked.

"Who? The twins… or Eva and Diego?"

"Eva and Diego."

Gaby ran her hand through her hair. "I don't know. I don't think they can hate you for something you had no control over… you couldn't tell them something you didn't know."

"I'll tell them after I know Josie's okay."

Gaby smiled. "Good plan. Hey… you look like you need coffee… let's go get a cup and come back in a little bit. Give the kids some time with her."

"Yeah… coffee sounds good right about now."

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Xavier, Zoë and Dixie were chatting amongst themselves when Josie squeezed her mother's hand. They looked at her.

Josie's eyes slowly fluttered open. "Mama? Xavier… Zoë?" She whispered hoarsely.

"Mama!" Zoë exclaimed. "You're awake."

"Mhmm." Josie looked around. She was confused. "Where… where am I?"

"You're in the hospital, Mama." Xavier went to the other side of her bed.

"What… what happened?" Josie looked at her arm. "Wait… Biz…"

"Jules and the rest of your team got them." Xavier replied. "It's over. Jules said you're safe… and that… well… you get to pick your next assignment."

Josie's free hand flew to her stomach. "The baby?"

Dixie pushed some of Josie's hair away from her eyes. "The baby is fine. Doc says it's very healthy."

A tear fell down Josie's cheek. "I was scared… for the first time since… since you guys were born… I was scared for my life…"

"Mama, it's okay. It's over now… you're fine."

"Wait… Xavier… I swear… I heard…"

There was a knock on her door. Everyone turned to face the doorway. "Hi Josie." Antonio stepped into the room.

Josie let a small gasp escape her lips. "Antonio."

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 _ **A/N: A little shorter than the last few chapters… but I needed to leave it there… what do you think should happen next? Let me know what you think. Love getting your feedback! Side note… I'm starting a new job this week… hours will be a little different, but more stable… and I will most definitely be updating this story, and my other CPD Fanfic, The Rose… just maybe not as frequently as I have been recently, but I will be updating! Lots of love! Nicole**_


	6. He Still Calls Me Baby

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 _Josie let a small gasp escaped her lips. "Antonio."_

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Josie was in shock. She hadn't been imagining things. Antonio Dawson had been there. She had heard his voice and he had held her hand.

Antonio took a couple steps into the room. "Hey… Jo."

Josie could feel tears building up in the corner of her eyes. "Antonio."

Dixie knew her daughter needed time to process everything. "I'm going to go get some food from the cafeteria… Kids, come with me."

"But…" Zoë looked around.

"Come on Zo…" Xavier took her hand. "Mama's fine and Mimi needs company… so you guys can tell me all about Paris."

Xavier and Zoë kissed their mother's cheek. "We'll be back in a bit."

Josie nodded. "Je t'aimes."

Antonio hugged the twins and nodded to Dixie. He waited for them to leave and closed the door behind them. He walked over and sat on the chair next to Josie's bed. "Josie."

"Antonio…" She sniffled. "How?"

"There's a lot to talk about… how are you feeling?"

"Sore… tired… even though I've been out of it for a little over a week."

"Being In a coma and sleeping… are two very different things, Jo."

"How did… did you find me?" Josie whispered.

Antonio gently took her hand, and was thankful that she didn't pull away. "Jules called me… she told me to run to the house next door… that someone was in danger… I was at my parents' picking… picking up my kids." The last part had barely been a whisper.

"It's okay, Antonio…" Josie sighed. "I know."

"Josie… When I saw you there… I almost died… I couldn't believe it when Xavier told me… who you really were."

"I don't know where to begin."

"I can start… I… I'm sorry." He said.

"For what?" Josie was perplexed.

"Not coming to look for you… for believing that you were actually dead." Antonio's voice cracked.

"Antonio… no one could know… it was last minute."

"How can you be so forgiving? How can you still be the same sweet girl I met 16 years ago?"

"Because I wasn't going to let myself fall to pieces… because I had to be strong for our babies…"

"Did you know?"

"Know what?"

"That we were having twins."

Josie nodded slowly. "I had found out at my last appointment… I was… was going to tell you that night."

"Josie… I… I was lost."

"Antonio… you don't have to justify anything. You got married, had a family… that's what life's about."

"My life… our life… was supposed to be together. _**We**_ were supposed to have a family."

Josie instinctively put her good hand on the small bump of her abdomen. "Antonio, you have Laura and Eva and Diego."

Antonio blinked away the tears. "Laura's… Laura's gone."

Josie's eyes widened. "What?"

"I know Gaby, Mami, and Jules all tried to tell you… Laura… Laura died in February 2006…"

Josie gasped. "Antonio…"

"It's okay… I'm okay… I raised Eva and Diego on my own since then… with a lot of help from Rebecca, Tiago and my parents." Antonio squeezed her hand. "Gaby told me when you came back."

Josie looked away. She was ashamed of herself.

"Jo… baby…"

He still called her 'baby'. That alone started tearing down the wall she had built around herself. "Antonio… I did want you to know… As soon as I was cleared to… well Katrina made them fast track things."

"So… when we met in the bar… you weren't lying about spending most of your time in the South?"

Josie shook her head. "I was telling the truth. My cover was as close to who I really was as possibly. It's hard to have a cover and have your kids in on it… something I was against… but the Brass had other opinions."

Antonio cringed. "They shouldn't have taken you away in the first place."

"They didn't have a choice."

"Yes, they did… offer protective custody… or at least given me a heads up… so one day…"

"Antonio…" Josie took a deep breath. She hadn't talked about this in almost 16 years. She hadn't been able to relive the night her world was turned upside down. "I went home to get ready for Midnight Mass that night… when I got in the house, there was this really strong ammonia smell… I went to look and there was a bomb in the living room. I called Billy's phone… it wasn't getting picked up… so I called the emergency number he gave me… A…uh… Hank Voight came with his partner and got me out of the house… the bomb was on a timer… so they left it. They put me on a plane and left. I got to New Orleans… and I was livid. I wanted to come home but NOPD was there waiting to pick me up. They made sure I didn't get to talk to anyone… I legally changed my name and had the twins."

"When?"

"June 2, 1998… my 18 birthday."

"Josie… I…"

"Antonio… please don't… don't beat yourself up over this. It was out of your control." She took a deep breath. "I just… I don't know what to do from here."

"I could go back to the way we were in a heartbeat… but I know that's impossible… because as much as I want to think we haven't changed… we have."

Josie nodded. She wished she could turn back the clock and go back to that night and not have called for help. She wished she could go back and just run from the house back to Antonio's. "I don't know what to do." She sniffled. "We have two teenage children that haven't had a chance to know their father more than what I've told them… you have two children from your previous marriage and you've been doing the single dad thing for 8 years… and now… I'm pregnant again… at 33… and you're the only man that could be the father."

"Jo… how…" He paused. "Don't get pissed… but I gotta know… how can I be the only one?"

"Biz is sterile… I know because I've checked his medical records… that and I hadn't had sex with him in the window that I could've conceived." She said. "It doesn't piss me off, by the way… you have every right to ask."

Antonio ran his hand through his hair. "Jo…" He let out a deep breath. "I never… never, ever stopped loving you… thinking about you…"

"I never did either… Not… I never married… never dated… I just raised the twins."

"Never?" Antonio was surprised. "I would've never been upset if you had."

"I couldn't…"

"She couldn't marry anyone else because she could never love them like she loved you." Zoë said from the doorway. "Sorry… I… uh… I had to come back… I haven't see Mama in almost 3 months… and I…"

"You can tell us." Antonio said. "It won't hurt my feelings."

"I wanted to get to know my dad… I've… I've always thought about… played it out in my mind…"

Josie felt the tears building up. She never thought she'd get to see this, their children finally meeting their father.

Antonio got up and hugged his daughter. "Zoë, I'm not going anywhere… we will figure this out."

Zoë just nodded and hugged her father tightly. "Um..." She cleared her throat. "Mimi wanted to know if either of you wanted something other than hospital food?"

"Sure." Josie smiled. "Just ask the nurse what I'm allowed."

"Surprise me." Antonio said.

"Okay." Zoë kissed Antonio on the cheek. "Um… We'll be back later." She turned and left to find a nurse.

Antonio went back to Josie's bedside. "You raised them strong and… they're just… wow."

"I had my mom's help."

"I'm pretty sure you had a lot to do with."

"Antonio… can… what… what happened to Laura?"

Antonio sighed. "Gaby said you never wanted to hear about it."

"That's because I was still hurt by what she told me… what she said about Xavier and Zoë… but I'm not one to speak poorly of the dead."

"Well… I'll make you a deal… I tell you what happened… you tell me what she told you. There's nothing bad that can come from being honest at this point."

"I can do that."

Antonio smiled. "Okay… um Laura and her sister were on their way back from Laura's baby shower in early January 2006… They got T-Boned on the passenger side by a tweaker who was being chased by CPD for grand theft auto. Gaby was one of the medics who responded… Laura was okay at first. They sent her for some tests and she began seizing… They did a scan and found out that she had a weakened vessel in her brain… it ruptured as an effect of the crash… she was brain dead. They came to me with two choices. Deliver the baby then, but risk him being super preemie… or keep Laura on life support until it was safer to deliver. Diego was due late March. Laura's body starting shutting down… that led them to having to do a C-section with him only being at 8 months gestation… February 24, I had my son but lost my wife… even though, I had really lost her earlier."

"Antonio, I'm so sorry."

"Josie… you don't need to… I had a couple months to come to terms with what happened… Eva, my daughter… she's been the one struggling with it… she has memories of her mother, but anything that has to do with girly stuff… I can't help her with."

"So you get your mom, Gaby or Rebecca to help her?"

"Yeah, but… it's not the same." Antonio sniffled. "Okay… so I told you… now… I'd like to know what happened when you came back."

"Katrina hit New Orleans in late August… Mama had packed me and the kids up and shipped me out of there as soon as the voluntary evacs started. She was collecting as much as humanly possible to bring with her. She got out about 8 hours before the storm made landfall… we stayed in Texas for a while with one of Mama's friends… but we couldn't stay. It was then that she contacted a friend of Billy's about the house… since he was taking care of it for us. By Halloween, we were starting the very slow and long drive from Galveston to Chicago."

"Jesus… Jo…"

"I know… the kids wouldn't stop asking questions… they swore we were coming to see you… it was hard. Anyhow, we got here right after Veteran's Day. We moved in and tried to settle into a routine, but it was hard. It was then that I went next door to see if your parents still lived there… Rebecca answered the door… and well, I had a lot of explaining to do. Gaby was called… anyhow, she told me you lived across the street. So one day, while the kids were at school, I went to your house, hoping you'd be home… Laura answered the door." Josie paused. "I didn't even get a chance to introduce myself."

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 _ **November 2005…**_

Josie didn't know what she was going to say… considering that Antonio thought she'd been dead for the last 7, almost 8, years. She rang the doorbell and waited. She knew that Antonio was married now and had a daughter and another child on the way. She wasn't here to be a home wrecker. She just wanted him to know the truth.

The door swung open. "Yes?" The woman at the door must be Antonio's wife. She was definitely pregnant.

"Um, hi… I'm looking for Antonio." Josie said softly.

Laura looked at her from head to toe. "And you are?"

"Someone from his past."

Laura's eyes bulged. "No… No way… you died!"

Josie took a step back. "How… how do you know who I am?"

"Because I've been living in your shadow for the last 6 years." Laura snapped. "No… you're not seeing Antonio."

"I'm not here to try and ruin your marriage… or come between you guys… I just… Antonio deserves to know the truth about what happened that night… he deserves to know his children."

"Children? He told me you were having **a** baby."

"I had twins… a boy and a girl… they're 7 years old and they should be able to know their father."

"Fuck no." Laura crossed her arms. "No… no fucking way! You died… you… you and those brats, you stay dead! Don't you come near **MY** husband or our family ever again." She slammed the door in Josie's face.

Josie stumbled back in shock. She wasn't going to make a scene. She turned on her heel and ran home.

Gaby was waiting for her in the kitchen. "How'd it go?"

"He wasn't there… and… well… Laura… told me that the kids and I should stay dead and slammed the door in my face."

Gaby groaned. "I love Eva… I will love that baby… but seriously… Antonio should've never married that bitch."

"Why not?" Josie grabbed a bottle of wine and poured herself a glass. "He deserves to be happy and have a family."

"That bitch just wanted to be a cop's wife… she didn't care whose. She's out for the attention… she doesn't love Antonio."

"Then how do they have two kids?"

Gaby shrugged. "Sex is sex… it doesn't necessarily mean they loved each other."

Josie thought back to when she and Antonio had talked about the difference between making love and sexual lust. Gaby had a point. There was a glaring difference between the two. She knew what loving Antonio was like, so it was obvious that Laura didn't. Or, at least, that's what she was getting from Gaby's story. "Well, she won't let me near him. I can't force that."

Gaby sighed. "Maybe… go to the district?"

"NO!" Josie took a deep breath. "No. I'm going to just… not tell him. I'm not here to ruin any marriages… or keep kids away from their dad."

"Isn't that what you're doing with Xavier and Zoë?"

"They've known about Antonio their whole lives… I'll tell them what happened. If they choose to find him once their 18, I can't stop them. For now, I have to do what's best for my children… I know they need their father… but he moved on because no one let him in on the lie."

"Jo, I can't tell you what to do… but he'll need to know… he'll find out… you live across the street from him."

"Gaby, I'll deal with it."

"Okay… what do you planning to do for work?"

"I had two different jobs back in NOLA… I can do either one here."

"Well, what did you do back there?"

"I did nursing school, worked in a clinic for a few months, then the hours weren't enough to pay the bills, so I moved back in with my mom and joined the police force… I made it up the ranks… I was a detective in Homicide."

"Damn!" Gaby exclaimed. "So, what are you doing here?"

"I have a meeting at the Ivory Tower to talk options here."

"Don't you want to go back to nursing? A lot of the hospitals need nurses."

"Yeah… well… I may have to do that." Josie sighed. "I don't want to run into Antonio and have him recognize me."

"I can help with that… if you really wanna go the cop route."

"Would you?" Josie asked.

Gaby nodded.

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"And that's what happened." Josie finished. "Gaby helped me dye my hair, got me contacts… then again, I didn't ask to see what you looked like… if you had changed… surprisingly, in the last 7 years, we never ran into each other."

Antonio leaned back in the chair. "Josie… I truly am sorry I wasn't home… I…"

"There's no need to apologize. We… we just have to figure out where we go from here."

Antonio didn't know where they were going or what they were going to be doing. "I don't know either." He sighed. "Josie… Jo… I want… would like to go back to the way things we were…"

"Antonio, we can't pick up where we left off in 1997." Josie whispered. "We've changed… a lot."

"Then…"

There was a knock at the door. "Antonio." A gruff voice came from the doorway.

Antonio spun to face the doorway. "Sergeant." He stood up.

The man nodded. "You can sit." He stepped into the light. "Hi, Josie… It's been a while."

Josie stared at him. "We know each other?"

"You didn't like me much when we met back in December of 1997."

"Wait." Josie squinted. "You're Detective Voight… you've… you've changed."

"Yeah. Prison will do that to a person." Antonio muttered.

Hank Voight ignored him and walked over to the other side of the bed. "It's actually Sergeant now." He smiled. "How you feeling?"

"Sore… umm… why are you here?" Josie asked.

"Well, Antonio hasn't left your side and I wanted to speak to him… Detective Willhite told me I'd be able to find him here… though, while I'm here, I can get your formal statement for the file against Biz and his crew."

"Sarge…" Antonio intervened. "She just woke up."

"I know." Voight turned to face Josie. "If you're up to it."

"Um, I guess." Josie whispered. She wasn't sure how much she trusted him. She had hated him for ripping her away from Antonio and the life that they had planned. Then there were the rumours of him being a dirty cop and she knew Antonio had locked him away for going after a firefighter in Gaby's house.

"May I?" He pointed to the seat that was available on the other side of the bed.

Josie nodded. Antonio squeezed her hand.

"You can go Antonio… no one's gonna come after her with me here." Voight said.

Antonio shook his head. "Uh uh… no way. Sorry, Sarge… I'm not about to let her out of my sight again."

"Antonio…" Voight's tone changed.

"Sergeant… I'd like him to stay… please?" Josie pleaded.

Voight sighed. "Okay, but Antonio, she's talking… not you."

"I got it."

Voight took out his note pad and began to take down Josie's statement. She explained how she had gotten into Vice and how she'd been assigned to go undercover to put Biz out of business. "He bought me the Escalade that I've been driving, which I guess is now CPD property. However, I still think there's a mole in the CPD."

"What makes you say that?" Voight asked.

"He told me I could do whatever I wanted and no cop would ever touch me. I asked him how he knew that and he just told me he had an inside track as to what happened in the CPD."

Voight jotted this down. "Did he hint at who?"

Josie shook her head. "No, and I didn't want to push it. Pushing it too much could have made him suspicious."

Voight nodded. "That's smart. Okay, then what?"

Josie went through the rest of it right up until she met Antonio while he was undercover. Voight looked over to Antonio. Antonio interpreted the look as 'you and me are gonna have a long talk'. Antonio just shrugged. He wasn't about to make things harder for Josie than they already were.

"So, did Biz know your real address?" Voight asked.

"No, sir." Josie answered. "I used a cover address… but my son had to be with me… so that was a part of the risk that I wasn't necessarily a fan of."

"We normally don't let families be part of covers." Voight noted.

"If my mother had been here, it would've been fine, but she took my daughter to Paris for a special scholarship program. They only came back because of what happened. In reality, they should be going back there so Zoë doesn't fall too far behind." Josie paused. "Look, the only thing I can think of is him having a tracker on the Escalade. He gave it to me, so who knows. He insisted on me taking it and keeping it."

Voight jotted this all down. "We'll have that Escalade towed to be examined. Is there anything in there that belongs to you and has nothing to do with the case?"

"No, sir. I never left anything personal in there."

"Okay, so tell me about what led up to the initial attack."

"After… after Antonio had been shot, I knew my cover was next. I told Jules, Detective Willhite that she needed to get me out. She told me it would take some time. So, we came up with the plan that I would end it with Biz because I'd been approached by cops and that my job was on the line. So I ended it, gave him everything back… tried to give him the SUV back, but he told me he had no use for it. So, I parked it at home until he was caught… then it would be brought in… If I brought it in before, and he had a tracker on it… it would've been that much worse. Any how… I was making supper while my son, Xavier was at baseball."

Antonio tuned out this part. He knew it. Whenever she spoke of their children, it stung to hear her say, 'her son' or 'her daughter'. He knew he didn't really have any claim to them. They may be his children, but for the last 15 years, they were raised by their mother and her alone. Antonio tuned back in when they were discussing his own cover as Mike Diaz.

"I knew who Mike really was… I was one of the nurses that treated him when Gaby brought him into the ER… I also knew that I couldn't stay under… because I'm pregnant."

Voight's eyes widened. "Is Biz the father?"

"Hell no!" Josie exclaimed. "Biz can't have kids… and in the time frame during which I could've gotten pregnant… I never had any relations with him."

"May I ask, who exactly is the father?"

"Voight." Antonio stepped in.

"Antonio, you get to be quiet… unless you've suddenly become Josie."

"Antonio, it's okay." Josie whispered. "Um… this is part of where the complicated part comes in… Under my cover as Johanna, … I… we…"

"I'm the father." Antonio blurted out.

Voight dropped his notepad and pen. "I beg your pardon?"

"I am the father." Antonio sounded out each word clearly.

Voight looked between Josie and Antonio. "My understanding was that Antonio didn't know you were alive."

"He didn't… and I didn't know it was him. Physically, Antonio's changed in the last 16 years. I didn't recognize him and well… it was a heat of the moment thing… now I'm pregnant and Antonio and I are trying to figure all this out."

"Okay, well… I think I've got everything I need for the case file." Voight shut the notebook. "I have news from the District. For what you've done, you can pick your next assignment."

"I thought that was strictly for taking a bullet on the job." Josie inquired.

Voight shrugged. "I guess bringing down a crew like his as well as taking the beating you took… they deemed it worthy."

"Wow." Josie was in shock. "Umm… I don't know what to say."

"Well, take your time. I understand that this is a hard choice… especially with two teens and another baby on the way, but I'd personally love to have you in Intelligence."

"Thank you, Sergeant." Josie smiled. "I have time to think it over, discuss it with the kids?"

Hank nodded. "Of course. Take as long as you like… considering your recovery time and eventual Mat Leave… the spot will always be open to you." He got up to leave. "Get better, and I look forward to hearing from you in the future."

"Thank you, Sir."

Hank smiled and nodded. "Antonio."

"Sarge."

Voight turned to leave but froze in his tracks. Dixie, Xavier and Zoë were standing there.

"Sergeant… I don't know if you remember… that's my mama…"

"Dixie… you haven't changed."

"Hank." Dixie met him in the room and gave him a cordial hug. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to take Josie's formal statement… Antonio and Jules were too close to the case and to Josie." Voight answered. "I'll… I'll uh, let you be with your family." He reached into his pocket and discreetly handed Dixie his card. "It was nice to see you again." He left the room.

The kids and Dixie came, bringing food and stories.

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* * *

Two days later, Antonio was pacing the hall. Josie had asked him to wait outside while she talked to the twins for a little bit. He wished he knew what they were talking about. He was anxious. Josie was set to be released in two days' time, and the doctors had said she would be needing help at home. Antonio knew that Josie didn't want her mother and Zoë staying because Zoë still had school and Xavier had missed enough school as it was. He offered to have her stay with him, or he could stay with her. Then they had had the discussion concerning Eva and Diego. He still had to tell them about all this. So far, Gaby and his mom had kept them in the dark, but eventually, they'd start putting two and two together. He still hadn't had a lot of time to process all this. The last two days, Voight had him and Jules on a surveillance job. He had finally gotten time off and he flew to the hospital. He and Josie had talked a little more and they had come to the conclusion that they would take this one day at a time.

Someone cleared their throat behind him. "Uh… Da… Antonio?" Xavier said.

Antonio had told the kids that they could call him Antonio or Dad, whatever they were comfortable with. Right now, they were sticking to Antonio, but he hoped that, one day that would change to dad. He turned around. "Yeah?"

"Mama, she'd like to talk to you."

"Uh, okay." Antonio took a deep breath, ran his fingers through his hair and followed Xavier into Josie's room. "Hey, Jo." He smiled.

"Hey, yourself." She smiled. "Come, have a seat. The kids and I have had a long talk… and well… we, as a family, have something that we would like to propose to you."

Antonio sat next to the bed. Zoë was sitting on the bed while Xavier was on the other side. "Okay."

"I have to go back to Paris… to finish out the term, anyhow." Zoë started. "Xavier can't miss much more school either."

Antonio nodded. "Okay."

"Mama's gonna need help, and to be kept safe." Xavier stepped in. "Look, we know that you have a hard job… the same one as she does… and that you have another family… but we… both of us, want to get to know you… as our father."

"And, if we can…" Zoë said. "We'd like to get to know our half siblings."

Antonio smiled. "I'd like that. And… I would love for you to get know Eva and Diego. I… work hasn't let me have the chance to talk to them about all this, but I am… tonight."

"How do you think they'll react?" Josie asked.

Antonio shrugged. "I don't know. I hope they'll be understanding, but Eva is almost 13 and Diego is 7."

"Well, if we can help… let us know." Xavier said. "We also know, that… you and Mama obviously have a connection… We know… that you love her… and that she never stopped loving you."

Antonio wasn't exactly sure where this was headed, but he let them continue.

"Mama said that you guys were trying to figure out what to do now… because you obviously have a lot to catch up on and you can't go back to the way it was… we thought…"

"What our darling children are stumbling over is they think we should date… again… and see where this goes." Josie laughed. "We have two children already… another on the way… I don't… it wouldn't be fair to not have you in all their lives. I'm willing to try and, make this work…"

Antonio took her hand. "I'm… I'm speechless."

"Just, promise us…" Zoë said. "Take care of her… and our little brother or sister."

"I will… it'll be a lot of work… but, I will do anything… everything to make it up to all of you." Antonio promised. "Thank you."

There was a knock on the door. "Hey all." Dr. Travers poked her head in. She was Josie's OB. "I was just wondering if you guys wanted to have a look at the baby, since Josie can actually go home tomorrow night."

"Not in two days?"

Dr. Travers smiled. "Nope. She's been cleared. Tomorrow night after she meets with her rehab therapist for her shoulder."

"Cool." Xavier smiled. "I'd love to see my little brother or sister."

"Ditto." Zoë exclaimed. "Sorry…" She lowered her voice. "Yes, please."

"I never got to see them that way…" Antonio looked to Josie.

She nodded. "Sure… just, I don't want to know if it's a boy or a girl."

"Mama…" Zoë whined. "I wanna know if it's a brother or a sister."

"As long as it's healthy, that's all that matters to me." Josie answered.

Dr. Travers smiled. "We'll make sure baby is healthy. If Josie doesn't want to know the sex, then… we don't tell… but don't worry… that baby is going to be here soon… you'll find out then. I'll be right back, just have to grab an ultrasound." She left and quickly returned with the ultrasound. "Okay, so, how 'bout you kids stand by your dad… and I'll position myself on this side." She set up the machine and lifted Josie's gown modestly and began the scan. "Okay… So… right there…" She pointed to the screen is the baby's…" She froze. She moved the wand around. "Um… hang on a sec." She put the wand back on the ultrasound cart and left the room.

Josie was beginning to panic. It was never a good thing to have the OB take off in the middle of a scan. "Antonio…"

"I know."

"Mama… what's going on?" Zoë asked.

"I… I don't know." Josie's voice was quivering.

"Hi, again." Dr. Travers came in. "This is Dr. Aiken. She's the head of OB here at Med. I just want her to confirm something before I go to far."

"Is something wrong?" Josie asked panicking.

Dr. Aiken took her hand and patted it gently. "No, nothing's wrong. Just double checking something." Josie laid back against the pillows and squeezed Antonio's hand. Dr. Aiken took the ultrasound wand and began the scan. She hit a couple of buttons. She turned back and smiled. "The baby is fine. Actually… both of them are."

Antonio's jaw dropped, as did the kids. "Both… of… them?"

Dr. Aiken smiled. "Yep… looks like you're having twins again… and I'm guessing… identical."

"Oh god." Josie gasped. "Twins… a… again?"

Dr. Aiken nodded. She handed the wand to Dr. Travers to finish the scan. "Given your genetic pre-disposition and your age… twins is a lot more likely."

"Genetic pre-disposition?" Antonio asked.

"Um… I was told that Josie's father had twins in his family… as did her mother?" Dr. Aiken grabbed Josie's chart.

"My mama did… but I… I don't know who my real father is."

"Oh… well… still… both twins are healthy and growing good. I'd say we're looking around an October due date."

"Oh boy." Josie groaned.

"What is it, Mama?" Xavier asked.

"You guys were due in June… and you were born on my birthday… your father's birthday…"

"Is in October." Antonio finished.

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* * *

After a little more time spent discussing what was going to happen once Josie left the hospital the next day, Antonio headed to his parents to pick up Eva and Diego. He knew he had to tell them now. It was a now or never situation. He parked his car in his driveway and headed over to Tiago and Rebecca's. He was happy that his brother and sister-in-law had stepped up to help their aging parents. He was even happier that they were all going to be there tonight to help break this news to Eva and Diego. He took a deep breath and rang the bell.

"Antonio." Tiago greeted him.

"Hey, Tiago." Antonio hugged his brother. "How's it going?"

"The kids are antsy… they know we're hiding something." Tiago replied.

Antonio sighed. "Let's get this over with."

"You sure you want us all there?"

"I was thinking, you guys stay close by, but I'll tell them myself in the kitchen."

Tiago nodded. "Sure thing. They're waiting for you."

Antonio took another breath and went to meet his children. "Hey, Eva… Diego." He hugged them. "How was school today?"

"It's almost the end of the year… teachers are basically trying to keep us from climbing the walls." Eva answered, not lifting her eyes from her novel.

"Our classes were in this classroom competition… we did a whole bunch of different activities… I won the science part." Diego showed him his ribbon proudly.

"That's awesome!" Antonio exclaimed. "I'm proud of you guys… very proud… so…" He didn't know how this whole thing was supposed to go down, but he knew it had to be said. "I've got some stuff to talk to you guys about… and it's really serious."

Eva closed her book. "That's never a good thing."

"Are you going undercover again, Daddy?" Diego asked.

"No… no." Antonio sighed. He walked over to the kitchen table. "Come on… sit down… this isn't easy for me… especially… just…" He patted the chairs on either side of him.

The kids joined him and were very attentive.

"Okay… so… understand… this isn't easy for me… especially since I just found out everything in the last week or so… okay?"

"Dad, you're scaring me." Eva said.

"This isn't something scary… just new." Antonio said. "A long time ago, before I knew your mom… before I was a detective… I was in love with our neighbor…"

"Tia Gaby talked about her once… her name was Josie… or something?" Diego said.

"Yeah… and… something bad happened." Eva added.

Antonio nodded. "Yeah. Her name was Josie… we were in love, and we were going to have a baby… Christmas Eve, 1997… I was going to ask Josie to marry me… and we'd be a family… except, her house was blown up. I was told she… she didn't survive."

"Oooookay." Eva was lost. "Why… does this matter now? Like, 16 years later?"

"It matters because Josie… she didn't really die… the CPD… her dad was a detective working with Sergeant Voight back when he was in the Gang unit… the gang they were chasin'… well they found out that her dad was a cop… and they had to get her away from Chicago… so they made it look like she died."

"So… she's alive?" Diego wanted to make sure he was understanding this right.

Antonio nodded slowly. "She is… and she's been living across the street from us for the last almost 8 years…"

"Did you know?" Eva asked. She didn't know how to feel about this.

"No. Not until last week… when Jules called me to go next door…"

"Is she the reason why you haven't been home?" Eva's voice was rising.

"Eva… Between my job… and being at the hospital… that's where I've been."

"So, what… we're just going to stop living because your old girlfriend actually is alive?" Eva was furious. "What about Mom?"

"Eva, your mother's gone."

"Yeah… I know… I never got more than a few memories of her."

"Dad…" Diego interrupted his sister. "What about the baby?"

"That's the other thing… the baby… she had it… and it was actually twins."

"So we have half-brothers or half-sisters?" Diego asked.

"You have an older half-brother, Xavier and an older half-sister Zoë… they just turned 15, this past weekend."

Eva bolted up from her seat. "So, not only are you telling us that there's this other woman… who you loved more than our MOM! We have two half-siblings… and no one bothered to show up until NOW?!"

"Eva!" Antonio stood up. "Calmate."

"No, no way, Dad…" Eva crossed her arms. "How could you?! What about Mom?! HUH?! DID YOU EVER LOVE HER?!"

Antonio tried to put his arms around her, but she pushed him away. "Eva… yes… I loved your mother."

"But not as much as her… right!?" Eva stepped back.

"Eva… this is why it's so complicated…"

"There's more isn't there?" Eva's eyes were filled with tears.

"Yes… I met Josie again, while we were both undercover… and we didn't know each other's real identities… Josie's pregnant… and I'm the babies' father."

"Baby's or babies, more than one?" Diego asked.

"Twins." Antonio replied. "Identical twins."

Eva screamed and flew into a rage-filled fit. She ran at her father and pounded his chest with her fists. "HOW COULD YOU?! HOW COULD YOU JUST THROW US AWAY BECAUSE OF HER?!" She collapsed on the floor and wept. "So, now… we're just garbage… we won't… won't be impor…" She got up and ran out of the room.

Antonio could hear Gaby and his mother calling after her as she flew to the guest room upstairs. Antonio leaned against the counter and cried. He knew this was going to be hard, but he didn't think it would be this hard. He turned around when Diego took his hand. "Yeah, buddy?"

"You wouldn't really give us away, would you?"

Antonio knelt in front of his youngest son. "No, Diego. I love you and Eva. I always will. This doesn't change that love… it just means; I have to have more love in my life for all my kids… I won't be playing favourites. For the last 7 years, little man, it's just been the three of us… and I'm not just going to change things overnight… Josie, Xavier and Zoë have been living their lives a certain way. It's going to be a big adjustment for everyone."

"Do… do they want to get to know us? Our brother and sister?"

Antonio nodded. "Yeah, they do. They know that this is going to be hard… and it's going to be harder for you and Eva because none of us knew the truth… but Josie told them about us… that we were in Chicago and that hopefully, one day… we'd all be a part of each other's lives."

"If they didn't live here, where were they?" Diego was taking this much better than his older sister.

"They lived in New Orleans for the longest time… that's where they were born."

"And where do they live now."

"They live next door to this house… and Zoë is in a special school for cooking… she and Josie's grandmother will be going back there after the weekend. Xavier goes to Holy Trinity… like Tia Gaby and I did… where Tia Rebecca worked."

"Cool." Diego said. "Don't worry about what Eva said… I think it's that time of the month."

Antonio couldn't do anything but laugh at that comment. "Oh, Diego."

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* * *

Eva was in the guest room sobbing. "How could he?"

Gaby knocked on the door. "Eva."

"Go away."

"Eva, I can't do that."

"I don't… I don't want talk."

"Eva, you have to… you can't keep this all bottled up."

"Why?" She wept. "Dad hid this from us… now all of a sudden we're supposed to be one big happy family."

"Eva, we're not asking you to just forget your mom… that's not it… we're just asking you to realize that this is a big change… and we just want your dad to be happy."

"What about us? Our happiness?"

Gaby pushed the door open. "Eva, he wants your happiness too… can we please talk?"

Eva looked up from the pillow she holding. "Why didn't he tell us anything?"

"Because, sweetheart, no one was allowed to tell him. He just found out himself. We wanted to tell him back then."

"You knew?"

Gaby nodded slowly. "I did… when Josie came back… she came here and she wanted to tell your dad… I sent her to your house to talk to him… but he wasn't home that day and your mom… told Josie to not contact your dad ever again."

"Why would she do that?"

"Eva, I think she was scared your dad would leave you guys."

"Well, isn't he?"

"Why would he leave you?" Gaby sat on the bed next to her.

"Because he loves them more." Her breathing was shaky from all the crying.

"No, Eva." Gaby rubbed her back. "He doesn't love any one of his children more than the other. He just wants to be able to get to know them… he wants you to get to know them."

"Well… what about their mom?"

Gaby sighed. "Eva, I get that this is hard… you don't want a new mom… I know that. Josie is a great person, kind and loving." Gaby pushed Eva's hair out her eyes. "She isn't going to try and change you… or make you forget your mom… but she and your dad do want to try and make something work out for everyone."

"But what if she doesn't like me?"

"Eva?" Antonio knocked on the bedroom door. "Eva, can I please come in?"

Eva turned to Gaby. Gaby nodded and whispered. "Just listen… give this a chance… okay? No matter what, you are just as important as they are and you will never, ever lose your family."

Eva nodded. "Yeah, Dad… you can come in."

Antonio slowly opened the door. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah." She whispered.

Gaby kissed Eva's cheek and squeezed her shoulder. "It's going to be okay." She whispered. She got off the bed and went to leave, patting Antonio's shoulder as she left the room.

"Eva, I really am sorry." Antonio sat on the bed next to her. "If I had known, I would've told you… but I didn't know either."

"That's what Tia said." Eva whispered. "She said that… that Mom didn't want you to know about them."

"That's what I've been told too." He took her hand. "Eva, this isn't me trying to push you or Diego away… or getting a new family and forgetting about you guys. This is me, trying to figure out what we're supposed to do next. I want us to be one family… but that's going to take work… time, and patience."

"Do they… want to meet us?" Eva's voice was hoarse.

He nodded. "They do. They've known about you and Diego all this time… their mom, Josie… she told them about us hoping that one day, you could at least meet."

"Are they nice?"

"Yeah. Xavier and Zoë just turned 15… Xavier's into music, baseball and boxing… Zoë is in a special exchange program in France for cooking."

"Wow!" Eva said. "It sounds like Xavier has a lot in common with you."

"He does… but when you see them, you'll see that you guys all look a little bit alike."

"Really?"

"Yep… they all have the same dark hair as you guys… the darker skin… they definitely have the Dominican attitude."

Eva couldn't help but laugh. "You sure you want 4 of us running around with that?"

"Not like I have much of a choice… then there's the baby thing."

"And… it's definitely twins?" Eva's voice was shaky.

"It is… the doctor figures identical, but couldn't tell if they were boys or girls… and no, Eva… I won't love them more than you guys. You are all my children, and I will love you all equally."

"Okay." Eva sighed. "I'll meet them… but… I just don't want to forget my mom either."

"You won't." He pulled her in for a hug. "Josie doesn't want to replace your mom… she just wants us to all have a chance of being one family… no matter how complicated it is."

"So, you're dating her?"

"We're going to start there… we never lost that hope… or that connection we had way back when… but we can't just go back there either. We need to work on it. So for now, they'll still live across the street… and we'll do visits… Josie and I will go out… and we're going to take this one day at a time. Every day will be a new adventure, for all of us."

"So where are they?" Eva pulled back, sniffling.

Antonio reached for a tissue on her nightstand and handed it to her. "They're still at Chicago Med… that day, last week… when I left in a rush?"

"Yeah."

"It was because she'd been attacked at home and Jules told me to go help her. That's when all of this came to light."

"Oh." Eva felt a little bad. She had assumed that he had known and just kept everything a secret.

"She's okay… she's coming home tomorrow night. Now, her… the twins… This is going to take so much getting used to… because they're my kids too… the twins… have to keep up with school. Zoë has to go back to school and Xavier can't miss too much more. I've asked that Josie either come stay at our house, or we stay at hers, just until she's able to take care of herself on her own."

"Okay… so when can we meet them?"

"Well, Diego asked me that too… I said, that it's up to you guys… I know this is a huge adjustment and that it's a shock… and it's emotional and you're angry…"

"I… I just miss Mom."

"I know, Eva. I know." He sighed. "Let's go talk with Diego… and we'll figure this all out… just… can I ask one favour?"

"Sure, Dad."

"Give Josie a chance… she's not your mom, she can never replace your mom… but just give her a chance and maybe she can be someone you can talk to if you're not comfortable talking to me."

"I guess I can do that."

"Good." He got up. "Let's go talk to Diego."

"Uh, Dad… I forgot to ask… what exactly does Josie do for work?"

"Well, like I said, she and I met again while undercover… she's a detective… like me… She's in Vice now, but Sergeant Voight has offered her the chance to go into Intelligence, but she's also a nurse at Med… so she may leave the CPD and do that full time."

"Wow." Eva had to admit she was impressed with this woman. "Um… would you be okay with her being a cop… with new babies and everything?"

"I don't know… but ultimately… I can't tell her what to do." Antonio said. "She's a grown woman who's been a single mom for 15 years."

"You've been a single dad for 7."

"Yeah, but being a mom… is a lot harder than being a dad… I'll be the first one to admit it."

Eva got up and blew her nose. "Okay, we can go and talk about it. I'll be open minded."

Antonio hugged her. "Thank you. That's all I can ask for."

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* * *

 _ **A/N: I know a bunch of you may be offended that Eva was such a brat about this… but think about it… she's a teenager who knew nothing about this (that and it was my hubby's suggestion). More to come soon! Let me know what you think! The title is from the song, "He Still Calls Me Baby" by the Canadian country group, 'Hey Romeo'. Love, Nicole**_

 _ **ps… An update for "The Rose" is coming soon too. Just know, I started a new job and have some gardening to do… but please comment, tell me what you'd like to see or give your opinion. I love hearing them. Thanks to everyone who already has. It means a lot.**_


	7. Say It Again

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* * *

Hank Voight was pacing around the bar. He hadn't been surprised that Dixie had called him, but he was surprised that she had insisted on meeting with him tonight in their old hangout bar. Someone tapped him on the shoulder. Hank spun around. "Jesus Christ, Dixie! Don't sneak up on a cop like that!"

"You weren't saying that 34 years ago." She reminded him.

"That's a lifetime and a half ago. Things changed."

She went over to the back corner of the bar. "You still drinking Manhattans?" She sat in the corner booth.

Hank sat down and nodded. "Yep."

The server came over and smiled. "Whatta y'all have?"

"2 Manhattans." Dixie smiled. She handed the server her Visa. "Start a tab."

"Of course!" The server grinned, turned and left.

"A tab, Dixie?" Hank asked. "Just how long is this discussion going to take?"

"It isn't necessarily the length of the conversation… but the subject."

"What exactly do you mean by that?"

"You playing dumb, Hank?" Dixie took the drink from the server when she returned with the drinks and her Visa. "It doesn't really suit you." Her New Orleans accent was subtler than it was when they had first met, but it still was there.

Hank took a sip from his drink. "A lot has changed since that night 34 years ago."

"Oh, don't I know it. I married a man that I didn't really love, raised my daughter to think he was her father… all while the man I really loved moved up the ranks of the CPD while being in love with his high school sweetheart. I was truly sorry to hear that Camille passed away a couple years ago."

"Thank you, Dixie. It was hard… I don't know how you and Josephine did it when Billy… you know."

"It was hard, but we weren't together anymore… then when he found out he wasn't Josephine's dad…"

"Wait… Billy… wasn't… wasn't Josephines's dad?" Hank stammered.

Dixie ran her thumb around the rim of her glass. "He wasn't… um… that's why I'm here. What blood type are you?"

"That is the most random question I've been asked in a long time." Hank leaned back in the booth. "O-negative. Wait… Josephine… her hospital… are you telling me… is Josephine… she's my daughter?!"

Dixie nodded slowly. "Yeah, she is… you were the only other guy I had been with in that time frame."

Hank was speechless. He downed the rest of his Manhattan and signaled for the server to bring him another one. "How? What?" He downed his second Manhattan. He looked to the server. "Keep 'em coming."

The server looked to Dixie. "Yeah, he's going to need it." Dixie nodded while sipping her Manhattan. "Bring me a water too, please."

Hank just stared at her. "All these years! You couldn't! Jesus Christ, Dixie!"

"Hank, I couldn't tell you because I didn't know for sure until Billy was dying. I had always questioned some aspects of it, because she couldn't have gotten the traits from Billy or me."

"So… what traits made you question it?" Hank took his third Manhattan, and began to sip it slowly.

"Her auburn hair… the freckles… the temper…"

Hank ran his hand over his hair. "Okay, but does… does she know?"

Dixie shook her head. "She knows that Billy wasn't her dad… but I never told her more. As far as she and Antonio know, I don't even know the truth. I made it seem like… like I slept around."

"Why would you do that?" Hank leaned in. "Other than that one night… you were always faithful to Billy." He took her left hand. "You haven't remarried either."

Dixie's cheeks flushed with colour. "Hank."

"Dixie, it was one night… we both admitted it was wrong and we put it behind us…"

"I know… you started seeing Camille shortly after, and I married Billy as soon as we found out I was pregnant… I was 19… I didn't want that for Josephine… but she and Antonio…"

Hank spat out his sip of Manhattan. "Antonio is Xavier and Zoë's dad too!"

Dixie handed him a napkin. "You didn't know that?"

"I… I hadn't thought… oh fuck!"

"Hank, breathe."

"My second in command… is the father of my grandchildren! He knocked my daughter up when she was 17!"

"Hank… HANK!" Dixie shouted to get him to snap out of his rant. "You can't tell her… she can't know."

"Why the hell not!?"

"Because, she can't get upset… she can't… she can't know I've been lying to her all this time… it's been about 10 years since Billy died… the same amount of time I've been lying. I can't risk her losing the babies."

"Babies?"

"You know she's pregnant, right?"

"Yeah, and I need to kill Antonio for knocking her up again."

"Well, please… don't… those kids need their dad… she's having identical twins… the doctor confirmed it tonight."

Hank finished his 4th Manhattan. He was extremely thankful to have had Al drive him here. He sighed. Al was still by the bar nursing the same glass of Burgundy as when they'd sat down almost an hour ago. "So, you don't want me to kill him?"

"No… I was mad at Antonio for a long time, but seeing how much Josie loved him, her determination to get him to at least know the twins… I'm not going to stand between them trying to make some sort of relationship work, even if it's just for the sake of the kids."

"Do Eva and Diego know about all this?"

Dixie sighed. "Antonio was supposed to tell them tonight. He's more worried about Eva than Diego… because she still remembers her mother."

"I can see that being a problem." Hank took another Manhattan from the server as well as the glass of water she offered him. "Did Josephine tell you the offer I made her?"

"No, she didn't."

"I offered her a position in Intelligence."

"Wow… but won't it be a conflict of interest because Antonio is in that unit?"

Hank shrugged. "At this point, I don't really care. I've seen how much he cares for her… and after 33 years of her not knowing, I can't really pull the 'Dad' card."

Dixie sighed, squeezing the lemon wedge into her water. "I was kinda hoping she'd leave the CPD now with the babies on the way."

"And do what, Dixie?"

"She's a nurse too. She wasn't just faking it as a cover… she took nursing before she became a cop." Dixie said. "She could easily do nursing until she needs to take leave… it's a steady job… it's safer than being a detective… I can't lose her… not like Billy… No, I don't want her to take it."

"Evangeline," Hank used her full name. "She's a grown woman with a mind of her own. If she wants it, she's gonna have it."

"Can't you withdraw the offer?"

"Dixie, let her make her choice… if she chooses Intelligence, I'll make her ride a desk until the babies come… then we can discuss assignments."

"Hmph." Dixie huffed. "Both of them working Intelligence is a recipe for disaster."

"Dixie, I won't tell her now, but I can guarantee this… she'll keep looking for answers. I'd like to get to know her as more than a detective or a nurse."

"Hank… what about Justin? Or that other girl you basically adopted, Erin?"

"Justin is still in Statesville for driving under the influence and Erin works in Intelligence."

"What would Justin say to having a half-sister… an older half-sister, from before you met his mom?"

"Probably the same thing Eva told Antonio to having half-siblings. I'd deal with that bridge when I get to it… but Dixie, you can't just… drop this in my lap and expect me not to want to at least tell her the truth."

"You won't give this up will you?"

"Dixie, we've know each other a long time… we have a child together… we moved on… but I'm still have the same values as I did back when I was 25 and we had that night."

"Fine… but only after she has the babies." She said.

"I can live with that." Hank smiled. "It's been good to see you again."

"It has." Dixie nodded. "Maybe… we can do it again."

"I'd like that." He took her hand and squeezed it. "Don't be a stranger."

"I'm heading back to Paris with Zoë for another couple weeks, then we're back in Chicago for the summer."

"I'll see you when you get back. Be safe." Hank finished his drink and took his jacket. "Thanks for the drinks… and the news." Hank left and headed to Al's car. Al was not far behind him.

Dixie finished her drink and sighed. This was going to be a long 4 more months.

* * *

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* * *

 _ **The next morning…**_

Josie had asked the nurse to take her for a shower before Antonio, Eva and Diego arrived. He had called the hospital late the night before saying that they would be by before she went to meet with her physical therapist. She was nervous. She knew that Antonio had been worried about Eva and Diego's reaction to their news. She knew that Eva would be taking this harder than Diego and it was because she had memories of her mother.

Josie felt better after the shower. She was brought back to her room. Zoë and her mother were there waiting for her, Xavier had gone to the cafeteria. They had brought her a couple changes of clothes to pick from and they helped her style her hair and apply a little make up.

"Mama, why do you want to be all gussied up for… Antonio and his kids?" Zoë asked. She really wanted to say 'Dad' but she wasn't sure if it was too soon.

"Because… I don't want to look like a victim anymore." Josie smiled. "Plus, we have to make a good impression. I don't want to put Antonio through hell because his kids don't like me… or think I'm trying to replace their mom."

"So, how old are they?" Xavier asked as he came in the room, bearing cups of hot chocolate.

"Eva is going to be 13 in July and Diego turned 7 in February." Jes answered as she put a headband in her now styled hair.

"So, we're the oldest?" Zoë asked.

"Yeah… look, this is going to be weird… we know that… just, take it slow… they may feel that Antonio didn't really love Laura." Jes turned around. "Mama, why do you look so tired?"

"I didn't sleep well last night."

"Mimi, why did you come home so late?" Xavier asked.

Dixie groaned. "I went out to see a friend whom I haven't seen in a long time… we lost track of time."

Josie bought that, but she figured her mom was also nursing a hangover. She'd talk to her about it once they were home and away from the twins' ears. "Can you help me with my make-up?"

Dixie set to work and in 10 minutes, Josie was feeling a lot better about her appearance. Her mother had managed to cover up the fading black-eye as well as other bruises and cuts. "How's that?"

"I look normal." Josie smiled. "Thanks, Mama."

"No problem. How are you feeling?"

"The babies are active… I'm still dealing with the nausea but I'll be okay." Josie put her hand on the prominent baby bump. "What time is it?"

Xavier looked at his watch. "It's 8:30." He yawned. "It's really freaking early for a Saturday morning."

"Sleeping in won't be much of an option come October." Josie reminded him.

"Yeah, I know." Xavier stretched. "I seriously wish you'd let me drink coffee."

"Nope… not until you're done high school." Dixie stepped in. "You're not done growing yet."

Xavier rolled his eyes. "Yes, ma'am."

Dixie went and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "You'll be fine. Just drink that hot cocoa and you'll wake up. Plus, your mama is coming home today… you need to be awake for that."

Xavier nodded and drank the rest of his drink.

Josie was fidgeting with the heart pendant she had her mother bring to her. She hadn't worn it in over a year because she'd been undercover. She still remembered the night Antonio gave it to her. She remembered the twins playing with it when they were babies. A brushed away the tear that was forming in the corner of her eye.

"Mama, you okay?" Zoë asked.

"Yeah, Zo… I'm just remembering some stuff."

Xavier reached into his back pocket and put something in Josie's hand. "I… uh… thought you may want this back."

Josie looked in her hand. In it lay the ring Antonio had given her as a promise ring. "Xavier… how…?"

"I found it when I was cleaning your room for you to come home… it was under the dresser."

Jes couldn't stop the tear this time. "Your father gave me this as a promise ring… right around the time we started dating way back in the day."

"Isn't that his grad ring?" Zoë looked at it.

"Yep." Josie smiled. "I just… I don't know if I can wear it again… so soon."

"Maybe, talk to him about it?" Zoë asked. She was really hoping that they'd be able to make it work, that they could truly be a family, even if it were blended.

There was a knock at the door. Savannah, Josie's co-worker, poked her head in. "Hey, Detective Dawson and his kids are here… you ready?"

"Yeah, Savannah… I'm as ready as I can be." Josie smiled.

Savannah nodded and spoke to Antonio outside. "She's ready."

Antonio stepped in followed by Eva and Diego. Antonio walked over to Jes and kissed her cheek. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be happy to get out of here." Josie laughed. "I hate hospital food. With a passion."

"Well, you'll be out in a little bit. Anyhow, I'd like to introduce you to Eva and Diego. Guys, this is Josie."

Eva and Diego stepped forward. "Hi." Diego smiled.

"Hi Diego, Eva. It's nice to meet you." Josie smiled back. "Um, your dad has told me a lot about you guys."

"He told us about you last night… he, uh said that he didn't know you were still alive." Eva whispered.

Josie nodded. "I know that it was probably really hard to hear that news too, for you guys."

Eva nodded. "Um, yeah… I… I kinda lost it on Dad last night." She sighed. "I'm going to be honest. I'm not so sure how I feel right now… but I did promise Dad that I'd keep an open mind about all of this."

"That's all your dad or I could ask for, Eva. It isn't easy on anyone…" Josie said. "Well, I should introduce you to, well… your half-brother and sister. This is Xavier and Zoë."

The twins stepped out from the shadows. It wasn't long before all four of them realized that there was no denying that they were actually siblings. They all shared the same dark hair and tanned skin. Eva and Zoë had similarly curly hair. Xavier and Diego kept theirs fairly short but if they grew it, it was almost certain that it would curl to a certain extent.

"Well, we're definitely related." Xavier said.

"Yep." Diego concurred. "No denying it. Only major difference is you guys have your mom's eyes."

Eva nodded. She was in shock. She did have another brother and sister and there was no denying they were related. She extended her hand and said honestly. "It's nice to meet you."

Xavier and Zoë took turns shaking her hand. "It's nice to meet you too… hopefully we can get to know each other a little better in the next little while."

Diego shook their hands. "Could we maybe go get, like a drink or something, from the cafeteria… give our parents time to talk?"

Xavier patted his back. "Good plan. I'm buying."

Diego looked to Antonio. "Can we?"

Antonio nodded. "Just don't leave the hospital."

"You got it." Xavier smiled. The four kids left the room, already chatting about themselves.

Dixie watched them leave. "I'll follow them. You two definitely do need time to talk about some stuff." She left the room before anyone could say anything.

"What's up with your mom?" Antonio asked.

"I have no freaking clue." Josie sighed. "She said she met up with an old friend last night and they lost track of time."

"Do you know said friend?"

"Nope. I don't remember her having friends while we lived here. Once we moved back she was focused on helping me with Xavier and Zoë."

"Hmm… I could investigate for you."

Josie shook her head. "Nope. I'm gonna ask her tonight."

"I see." Antonio smiled. "You still have that?" He pointed to the pendant.

Josie nodded. "I couldn't just get rid of it. It was a big thing for us… I wore it up until last year when I went UC."

"Wow… Jo…" He sat next to her wheelchair. "Look, I don't know what to say or do… I couldn't sleep last night. I was tossing and turning the whole night."

"Why?"

"Eva literally flipped lost it because I told them about you and the twins. She thinks I'm going to toss them aside because I could never love their mother like I love you."

"Love… present tense… not past?"

"Yes, Josie… I still love you… that never changed. If you want, I can just not say it until we both get back to that point."

"Antonio, I think it's more than just dating. Between the two of us, we'll have 6 kids. Three of whom are teenagers… in October… we'll have two infants. I don't think traditional dating is going to be possible."

"Are you saying you don't want us to try?"

"No, Antonio… God no! I want to be with you. I want us to be a family… all of us… but I don't know how to make it work anymore than you do. Um… Xavier found this…" She opened her hand and laid his grad ring in his open palm.

"My grad ring… the one I gave you?" He looked at it closely.

"Yep. I never got rid of it either. I just haven't worn it since the twins were born. I couldn't risk losing it… so I put it in my jewelry box for the last 15 years."

"Josie, I'd be so happy to see you wearing it again. I'd be happy to just take you for dinner… catch up on everything. Let the kids get to know each other… at least once before Zoë and your mom head back to Paris."

"I'd like that Antonio."

"Then, it's a date." He kissed her cheek and slid the ring onto her finger where it belonged. "Tomorrow night, I'll pick you up. For now, wear this… if it's too much, you can put it back in that jewelry box… just… I'd like to think that we can go back to where we were, or at least closer…"

"Fair enough." She beamed. "So what do you think our children are talking about right about now?"

"Who knows?" Antonio laughed.

* * *

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* * *

"So, you guys have lived in Chicago all this time and you didn't just pop over?" Eva asked.

"Because our mom told us that… well… your mom said she didn't want us near your dad… so we listened. We figured once we were 18, we could tell him."

"You would've waited that long?" Diego was shocked. "I couldn't."

"That's because your still young." Zoë laughed. "It's okay. We have time now to get to know each… and see how we can help make this work for our parents."

"We want Dad to be happy, trust me… but, personally… I don't want a new mom… no offense to yours, she seems great, but I already had a mom." Eva said.

"We know that, Eva… and Mama doesn't want to replace her. She just wants all of us to be able to get along and know each other… to let our dad have a family… even if it's a little unconventional." Xavier said.

"Yeah, Eva… I mean… I never knew our mom… but Josie could help you with some of your girly stuff… or Zoë could… like come on… I think it's cool that we have a big brother and a big sister. Think of all the things we could do together."

Eva had to admit that was a pretty good point. "I would like someone other than Tia Gaby to talk to about boys and school and stuff."

"I would love to be able to talk about that stuff with you, Eva." Zoë grinned.

"But… aren't you going back to Paris this coming week?"

Zoë nodded. "Yeah, but only to finish the term. I'll be back July 1."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Zoë laughed. "Maybe you and I can do some cooking together this weekend before I head back."

"Your mom lets you in the kitchen unsupervised?" Diego asked.

"Of course she does." Xavier grinned. "Zoë wouldn't be in this program if she wasn't trustworthy in the kitchen. How about you, Diego? What kind of things do you like doing?"

"I love baseball."

"Well, I know that our dad…"

"Why don't you just call him 'Dad'?" Eva interrupted. "Sorry, but you can, you know… he is your dad."

"Because we didn't want to just jump to any conclusions until we knew we could be a part of his life." Xavier replied.

"Oh."

"Like I was saying, Diego… Dad works a lot and it's almost summer… how about when you wanna play ball, we go together?"

"Will you come watch my games?"

Xavier nodded. "Of course! I'll probably be the loudest cheerer there."

"I don't know." Eva snickered. "You'd have to be louder than Tia Gaby and Abuelo. Wait, have you met the rest of Dad's family?"

"Yeah… we met them when we came back. Tia Gaby baby-sat us a couple times when we were younger." Zoë replied.

"Do Tio Thiago and Tia Rebecca know about you guys?" Diego was full of questions.

"They met us and know about us, but their kids haven't met us yet." Xavier looked to Zoë for a little help answering these questions.

"Hmm… I… I think that family gatherings will be a lot more complicated now." Eva added.

"Not if we take it slowly. I think the only people who are worried about this are Mama and Dad." Zoë said. "I know they've been stressing about this a lot… Dad… he told us how he had planned to propose the night Mama 'died'."

"He told us that too… but you don't think they'd just get married, do you?" Diego questioned.

"I doubt it. I think they'll go out a bit, but once that ember is a full flame, it won't be long before we're all living in one house as a family." Xavier replied. "Think about it… we all know that they still love each other… even though Dad got married to Laura… but this is their 2nd chance… I think we should at least let them see where it goes."

Eva had to agree with them. She barely remembered her mom, but she did remember that before Diego was born, her parents fought a lot. It had scared her. "We're going to need a bigger house if there's two adults and 6 kids."

"So, you guys know about the twins?" Zoë asked.

Diego nodded. "Yep. Dad kinda dropped it on us all in one go."

"It wasn't easy news to hear, was it?" Xavier asked.

"Eva flipped out… like she actually hit Dad."

"Diego!" Eva blushed. "I was a little mad."

"Understatement, Eva, major understatement." Diego rolled his eyes.

"Hey, Eva…" Xavier said. "It's okay… we know… it isn't easy… try going to a graveyard and seeing your mom's tombstone… knowing she's right next to you. That was hard to understand when we were younger."

"Wait, they actually played it like she died?" Eva gasped.

"Yeah… they're just removing the tombstone now… 15 years later."

"Oh my God." Eva was mortified. "I still can't believe that no one was allowed to tell my dad the truth."

"I'm pretty sure that they had their reasons." Diego rationalized.

"If he had known, you guys wouldn't be here…" Zoë pointed out. "I'm kinda happy he didn't know… because now I get a little sister and a little brother."

"So, you're not weirded out by this?" Eva asked.

"Nope. I've always wanted a little sister or brother… mainly because I don't want to be the youngest anymore."

"But you're the same age." Eva was astonished.

"Yeah, but I'm about 3 hours older than she is." Xavier laughed.

"Wow."

"Eva, I wanna be a big brother too!" Diego said in a mock whine.

"Well, you're going to be one." Zoë messed up his hair. "Just because the twins are going to be your half-brothers or half-sisters, doesn't mean you won't be their big brother."

Diego grinned. "Sweet!"

Eva laughed. "You may not say that when they puke on you or steal your toys."

"At least they'll know us right away." Diego rationalized. "It's not going to be like what we're going through now… and they'll have two parents from the get go."

The table agreed and there was more laughter and it was then that they knew it would all be okay. Dixie sat at a table a little further back in the cafeteria. She could see that there wasn't going to be a conflict or problem getting the kids to be civil to each other, or to have them be accepting of this new situation. She only wished it would be that easy to tell Josie the truth about her father.

* * *

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* * *

"So, she's good to go?" Antonio asked.

"Yep. She's got her exercises, all she has to do it follow them, ice her shoulder and avoid strenuous activities with that shoulder for the next month. She'll be good as new." Alexa, Josie's physical therapist, grinned. "Healthy eating, and take all the medication or vitamins the docs tell you too, and you and those babies will be just fine."

"Thank you so much." Josie smiled.

"If you have any questions, just shoot me a text or give me a call. I'll always be there." Alexa handed her her card. She looked to Antonio. "Spoil her… she deserves it."

"Oh, I know. I have 15 years of spoiling to make up on." Antonio grinned. "Thank you."

Alexa shook their hands and left.

"So, shall we get the kids?" Antonio asked.

"We can… but we have an issue."

"What issue?"

"Well, I can't drive… and we have 4 kids… they can't all ride in one vehicle."

"How'd your mom get here?"

"Probably drove the car I'm going to be selling to upgrade."

"Upgrade to what?"

"Antonio, do you remember how much space babies take? We need two car seats, and strollers… we need double of everything… I can't keep driving a small car."

"Won't your mom need a car?"

"Then I need to buy one." Josie sighed. "I hate car shopping."

"The CPD can help get you a new one." Hank's gravelly voice came from the doorway.

"Sergeant." Josie exclaimed. "I didn't realize you were coming by."

"I came to check how you were doing. I heard that you're being released today."

"Uh, right now, actually… yeah." Josie smiled. "I can't wait to get home… start getting back to normal."

"Sarge, what did you mean the CPD could help her get a new vehicle?"

"If she stays with the CPD… they can help her get a new vehicle… especially if she joins Intelligence."

"Boss, I'm in Intelligence… you said no relationships in your unit."

"I could make an exception… I need the best in my unit… Josephine is one of the best… just because you're dating her doesn't mean she'll be any less of a cop."

"He makes a good point." Josie said. "I don't want to quit being a detective… I've worked too hard."

"So, you're going to accept his offer?" Antonio asked.

"I haven't decided anything… but I am strongly considering it."

"If you don't want the CPD involved, I can personally help you out… consider it an apology for pulling you away from Chicago all those years back." Hank said. "No strings attached. I do want you in my unit, but I won't buy your involvement in it. I will however help out the daughter of one of my closest friends and former partners."

"Sergeant…"

"Hank, please."

"Hank… I… I can't accept that… you were following orders…"

"Josie… I didn't have to follow them… my gut was telling me to just let you stay… but I did what the Ivory Tower told me to."

"Hank, I do appreciate the offer… but I don't want to put you out of your way."

"It would be my honour… it could also be a gift for the babies."

"How did you know?" Antonio questioned. He hadn't even told Jules that they were having twins again.

Hank froze. He stammered. "I overheard it."

"From who, Voight? We haven't told anyone other than her mom and the kids… I haven't even told Jules." Antonio got up.

Josie looked between Antonio and Voight. "Sir?"

Hank looked to her. "Yes?"

"Did my mother tell you?" Hank's eyes grew. That's when Josie put two and two together. "You're the friend she was out to see last night."

Hank closed the door behind him. "What did Dixie tell you?"

"Xavier asked her why she came home so late… she said she went to see a friend that she hadn't seen in a long time." Josie answered. "She didn't say anything more… but she's been acting weird. What did you do to her?"

Voight scratched his chin. "It's not what you think… and Josie, I didn't do anything to her… she told me some things…"

Antonio glared at him. "What did she say?"

Hank could see the kids coming back. He knew they deserved the truth too. "Antonio, can you come by the district with Josie a little later… I'll tell you everything."

"Yeah." Antonio nodded.

Hank shook his hand and headed out before Dixie and the kids got back to the room.

"What the fuck was that all about?" Josie asked.

"I have no idea, but I'm going to find out… I'll go to the District… you keep your mom occupied."

"Antonio… he said both of us."

"Jo, you don't know him like I do… I've been dealing with him long enough… hell I locked him up last year… I'm not letting him get his claws into you."

"Antonio, I've been undercover for multiple cases, raised twins almost completely on my own… I think I can handle him."

"Jo, please? For the babies… let me go first."

Josie huffed. "Fine, but you tell me absolutely EVERYTHING that he says."

"You got it." He kissed her forehead. "The kids are back; we'll have to figure out the car thing."

Diego ran into the room. "Hey Dad, can I ride back with Xavier and Dixie?"

"Sure… if it's okay with them." Antonio smiled. "Josie and Zoë can ride back with me."

"Cool!" Diego turned back to Xavier who was just coming into the room. "Dad said I can ride back with you."

"That's great. Now, I can give you some tips on how to throw the perfect curveball."

"Baseball tips?" Josie laughed. "Just… promise me not to break any windows, please?"

"I promise, Mama." Xavier hugged her. "So, we're good?"

"Yeah, we can go." Josie sighed. "Take me home, please."

* * *

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* * *

Antonio was pacing around the rollout. He had left Josie, Dixie and all 4 kids at her house. He had texted Voight to let him know he was there.

"Where's Josie?" Hank asked as he came into the rollout.

"Resting… the move back to her house took a lot out of her."

"So, what are you doing here then?" Hank crossed his arms.

"I wanna know what exactly Dixie told you… or what your plan is with Josie. You took her away from me once, along with my children… I'm not letting you do it again."

"Watch yourself, Antonio… I'm still your boss."

Antonio stepped in towards Hank. "Oh, don't worry… I'll never forget that… But I'm not about to let you take her away or alienate her from me… not this time… I'm older and a whole hell of a lot wiser."

Hank took a couple quick steps towards Antonio and before he knew it, his punch had sent his right hand man reeling backwards.

"What the FUCK?!" Antonio grabbed his jaw. "What was that for?"

Hank shook his hand. "For getting Josephine pregnant."

"Why is that your business? We're adults… we weren't forcing each other to do that…"

"Before, Antonio… when she was still a teenager."

"Voight, that's like 16 years ago!" Antonio shouted. "Why the fuck does it matter to you? She's nothing to you."

"She's my daughter!" Hank bellowed.

Antonio's jaw dropped. "What did you say?"

Hank knew there was no going back now. "Josephine is my daughter."

"Dixie said she didn't know who her father was… that there were too many guys."

Hank shook his head. "No… Dixie wasn't that kinda girl… she slept with another man once… she stepped out on Billy once… because she had misinterpreted his interaction with a CI. She was 18… she started it and she didn't say stop and I didn't stop her either."

"What about Camille?" Antonio was still rubbing his jaw.

"I hadn't met her yet… I met her a week later… Dixie introduced me to her… after we agreed that what we had done was a mistake and we should never talk about it again. Then she was pregnant and she and Billy got married right away. No one thought that Josephine could have another father other than Billy."

"How long have you known?"

"Dixie… dropped it on me last night… she didn't want me to tell Josephine… too much stress… but since I blabbed that I knew about the twins… and twins run in my family… it makes sense… I missed out on 33 years of being her father… I get how you feel now… only difference between me and you right now… I'm the reason you didn't know Xavier and Zoë… No one thought about Billy not being Josephine's father."

"So, you think that buying a new car for her… giving her a job under you is a way to get to know her?"

"I offered her Intelligence before I knew she was my daughter. I still want her in Intelligence. She's a damn good cop and has skills that we can use."

"And her being your daughter, the mother of your grandchildren isn't going to be a problem?"

"Am I gonna worry about her being out on calls? Fuck yes… but am I gonna stop her? No… I've learned that with Erin."

"My jaw still hurts, by the way." Antonio glared at him.

"Sorry." Hank said. "Look, I knew you back then… I saw the potential… and honestly… I kinda basically gave you permission to sleep with her back then… as long as your hormones didn't blind you."

"I remember that conversation… I also remember having to bury an empty casket and go to a tombstone…"

"That tombstone's been removed and the record has officially been corrected to show the truth." Hank said. "Look, I get you want to protect your kids and Josephine…"

"Hank, she prefers Josie… you ever wanna play the 'dad' card… call her Josie."

"Josie… but can you two honestly just hop back to being a couple… after everything you've been through?"

"No… we know we can't, but all four kids need to get to know each other… and we need to get back to a better place for the sake of having a new set of twins come October." Antonio said. "Just know this, I never stopped loving her… I never stopped thinking about her or the future we could've had. We have that chance now, and I'm not about to let anything or anyone stop it."

"Is there something I'm missing here, 'Tonio?"

"Yeah, Sarge… I was going to ask her to marry me that night… instead, I got flung into a snowbank with broken ribs, ruptured ear drum, a concussion… I had to be there when they buried an empty casket with her name and my unborn child's name on a tombstone… I lived a lie all these years!"

"Antonio, I get it… I wish I could go back, but I can't… look… I just want to do right by her and the kids."

"Well, you shouldn't have decked me."

"You're the father."

"We were both consenting adults!"

"Not the first time."

"Voight, she was of age… and I made sure she understood what she was getting into… I wasn't just going to take it… I never was that kind of guy… still not."

"Fine… but what am I supposed to be doing?"

Antonio sighed. "Did Dixie say anything about what she wants you to do?"

"She doesn't want Josie to know yet… she thinks it'll be too stressful."

Antonio groaned. "So, now I know the truth… what the fuck am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know… Antonio… I'm in a bind… and I just put you in one."

"Fuck, Hank… I promised Josie that we'd have no secrets… that we have a chance to have the future we planned…"

"Then tell her… if Dixie finds out… blame me… I'd rather take the shit storm than you… I just want to be a part of my daughter's life… the same way you want to be a part of the twins' lives… have them know Eva and Diego."

"Look, Sarge… I get that… I'll break it to Josie… but just think about the domino effect that's going to come from this… Justin, Erin… how about Josie's feelings towards her mother's lie?"

"Dixie… lied about me being the only possible other man who could be father because she didn't want to ruin my marriage with Camille… especially with Camille being sick at the time."

"Shit… I'm sorry."

"Don't." Hank put his hand up. "It's the kind of woman Dixie is and always was. She always put others ahead of herself."

"Josie obviously takes after her mother." Antonio sighed. "Are you still gonna want to kill me or are we all good?"

"Just do right by her… She deserves a family… a good man… I know… that you are a good man… always were, always will be."

"Good, because when we get this smoothed out, and we can have some semblance of a family, I plan on putting the right ring on her finger."

"You're not asking permission?"

"Boss, sorry, I had asked permission last time, and then we almost all got blown to hell… this time, I'm just gonna ask…"

"Well, I'd give you my blessing no matter what…"

"Sarge, you okay?"

Hank sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I see my grandkids… 15 years old, they look like you and Josie… but, I don't even know if they would want to know who their real grandfather is."

"Let me and Josie figure that out… right now, I need to fill her in… and try and prevent Dixie from flipping out on it."

"Fair enough. Listen, Antonio… Tell Josie I have a line on a really nice Buick Enclave. Holds 6 passengers in the back, lots of space for the kids and the stuff babies need…"

"I'll let her know." Antonio turned to leave. "Look, a little bit of unsolicited, if Jo comes to work here, you're gonna have to let her be her own person, not play the 'dad' card, and just let her be happy."

"I know that Antonio… I see how happy she is with you… just keep her that way… because you hurt her or any of the kids, that goes for Eva and Diego too… I'll do more than punch you."

"Oh, I know… I have a feeling I'd end up at the bottom of the river… or buried out by the silos."

Voight laughed. "Probably. Let me know if Josie wants to talk… or anything like that."

"I will. Have a good night, Sarge."

"You too, Antonio." Both men shook hands and went their separate ways.

Antonio's head was spinning. Not only was Hank Voight his boss, but he was also, one day, going to be his father-in-law. He couldn't believe it. He knew he had to tell Josie, but he no idea on how to tell her and he definitely had no idea on how she'd react.

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 _ **A/N: Let me know what you think… this is going to get a lot more interesting… a new Chapter of 'The Rose' will be up this week too! Lots of Love! Nicole**_


	8. You're Still The One

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Antonio was still spinning from the news that Voight had delivered. He knew that Billy Fraser hadn't been Josie's biological dad but he sure as hell didn't expect her biological dad to be his boss and a man he had put behind bars. He knew that Dixie didn't want Josie to know the truth, but they had been hiding behind lies and secrets for the last 15 years. He sighed. They were all spending the night at Josie's. They had decided that it would be easier for her to recover if she was in her own home. He looked at the dash clock. "Fuck." It was late. He hadn't had the chance to discuss much with her yet. He didn't know if she or Dixie were still up. He just prayed that all four kids were sound asleep. He parked his car in his own driveway and walked across the street to Josie's. He knocked on the door. He paced on the porch while waiting for someone to let him in. He didn't want to ring the bell and wake the whole house up. Finally, the door opened.

"Hey." Antonio smiled.

"Hey, yourself." Josie smiled back. "It took a long time. Everything okay?"

"Yeah… uh, I guess… is your mom still up?"

"No, she went to bed a while ago… she's jetlagged." Josie sighed. "The kids were a little harder to get to sleep, but all of them are out now… I've been waiting for you."

Antonio walked in the house. "Wow. You changed everything."

"It's kinda easy to do that when the original was blown to smithereens… plus remember, I hated that hospital white." She closed the door behind him.

"Is there somewhere private where we can talk?"

"The news that bad?" Josie arched an eyebrow.

"Not necessarily that bad… but it's… it's something." Antonio ran his hand through his hair.

"Let's go to my room. No one would question that."

"Jo, you sure you want to head straight there?"

"You planning on taking advantage of me, Antonio?"

"Well, no."

"Then, we can go to my room. We're adults, Antonio… we've got two kids already… two more on the way… you have two other children… come on… we've known each other a long time."

"Okay, lead the way." Antonio gestured.

Josie led him up the stairs and to her room. He noticed that the house was filled with colour and artwork. He recognized some of the art as Dominican art that he had grown up with. She opened the door at the end of the hall.

"Wow." He said as he walked in.

Josie closed the door. "Yep."

The room was a soft yellow colour with lavender trim. There was an orchid painting hanging over the bed and it screamed Josie.

"You definitely ditched the hospital thing."

"I hate white… to this day, I will not have white in my home." Josie sat on the bed. "So, what did Hank have to say?"

Antonio was pacing. "Um… I'm not sure… well… your mom doesn't want you knowing." He stumbled over what he was trying to say.

Josie crossed her arms. She had ditched the sling. It had been driving her nuts. "Antonio, we promised that in giving us another shot, we wouldn't have any more secrets."

"I know." Antonio sighed. "But, this… this is huge."

"Is Mama dying?"

"No… but I will be dead."

"Antonio, enough with the riddles. Come, sit. Talk to me."

Antonio sat next to her. It was then that Jes noticed a black eye forming.

"Antonio, what the hell did he do?" She gently touched his cheek.

"He clocked me."

"I can see that. Why?"

Antonio groaned. "Because I got you pregnant."

"Seriously? I'm 33… I already have a set of twins, and I was consenting."

"Oh, he's not pissed about me getting you pregnant this time… it was from when I got you pregnant with Xavier and Zoë."

"What?!" Josie exclaimed. "What business is it of his? He was just my dad's partner."

"Uh, that's where this gets complicated."

Josie groaned. "Antonio, I'M going to deck you if you don't tell me what the hell is going on."

"Jo, Dixie knows exactly who your real father is… she's been lying all these years because she didn't want to ruin his marriage."

"What?"

"She made herself out to be a slut to protect your real dad… he… Voight… Voight is your father."

Josie's jaw dropped. "What!?"

"Yeah… that's pretty much what I said… uh… he said that your mom would rather make it seem like she slept around than tell the truth."

"What exactly is the truth?" Josie asked.

"She walked in on Billy with a CI… misinterpreted what was going on… I guess she thought that he was cheating on her… So she called Hank, got handsy… he didn't say no, and she didn't ask him to stop… it was one time, because they had agreed what had happened was a mistake and it would never happen again… Your mom introduced him to Camille. Then Billy and Dixie got married right after they found out your mom was pregnant."

"So, Mama made herself out to be a tramp to protect Hank?"

"When you guys got back here, and you found out that Billy wasn't your dad… Dixie wanted to tell Voight, but Camille was sick, and Justin was still young, so she lied to protect them."

"Why would she do that?" Josie was confused. "Didn't Hank have the right… to know?"

"She didn't want to ruin his marriage… or his career."

"So she just let everyone, including me, think she was a tramp?"

Antonio nodded. "Yeah, I guess. I just don't know… look, he'd like to be in your life as your dad, know the kids…"

"So he hit you because you knocked me up when I was 17?" Josie gently touched the bruise that was forming.

"Yeah… look, Jo… he said your mom didn't want you to know now, because of the stress."

"I think I can handle more than that." Josie said.

"She was worried about the twins."

"I'm fine, they're fine… look, I had the right to know too."

"Well, turns out that twins run on both sides of your family." Antonio touched her cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"About this news bomb or in general?"

"General… I think you need time to process the news."

"I'm doing okay. The sling was driving my bonkers, so I took it off. I've been icing my shoulder and doing what I was told to by the doctors."

"The babies?"

"Are fine, Antonio. They're active, but so were Xavier and Zoë." Josie rubbed her belly. "So, what do you think of all this?"

"What do I think of my boss being your dad?" Antonio asked.

"Yeah." Josie nodded.

"It scares the fuck out of me, Jo… I put the man behind bars because he was harassing a firefighter for being honest… he's been known to take bribes and a whole lot of other shit."

"So, my dad's a dirty cop?"

"That's not what I meant, Josie… you've been in the CPD for the last what… 8 years?"

"Yeah, just about…"

"You didn't hear the rumours?"

"Antonio, I tend to ignore the rumour mill… I used to be a big part of it, so I want nothing to do with it. Do you think he's dirty?"

"I don't know what to think anymore. He's changed since he got outta Statesville."

"People do change, Antonio… we did."

"We didn't break any laws."

"No, but we matured, raised our respective families to our own beliefs and principles."

"Jo, come on."

"If he's my dad… does this mean I can't make the move to Intelligence?"

"No, actually… he still wants you… bad… I told him I'm not overly a fan, but I can't stop you because you're a grown woman who's always been independent."

"What did he say to that?"

"He said that he wants you because you're a great detective… he doesn't care that we're seeing each other… he's not going to play favourites because you're his daughter. I did tell him that if you did join, he can't baby you… you're a cop first."

"Wow, you're totally okay with me being in Intelligence now?"

"Not really, but I can't stop you, Jo. You're a great detective… we've heard it everywhere… Jules doesn't stop talking about you… though, I kinda feel hurt that you both cheated on me with each other as partners."

"The Ivory Tower played that card, not us." Josie answered. "Can we work together… and not bring the relationship into it?"

"I hope so… I think I can."

"I really want to be up there. Intelligence is the top of the CPD… They get the hardest criminals off the streets."

"It's also one of the more dangerous units… just promise me… if you do come up… you'll be extra careful."

"Is this because I'm a mom or because you love me?"

"Both, and because I know how determined you are, you go above and beyond for everything."

"What about his son, Justin… how's he going to react to having a big sister?"

"He'll tell him when the time is right… look, I think right now, we have a lot of things to process."

"Antonio, I'm not going anywhere."

"I know that, Jo."

"Then, how 'bout we get some sleep, and we can keep talking about this in the morning."

Antonio got off the bed and headed for the door.

Josie grabbed his hand. "Where on Earth do you think you're going?"

"Guest room… or couch?" Antonio answered.

"Antonio… we've made 4 kids… we're adults, I think we can sleep in the same bed."

"Jo."

"Antonio, please… I haven't had a decent night sleep since the last time we were together…"

"You mean you haven't slept properly in almost 5 months?"

Jo nodded. "Yeah, and before that, the last good sleep I had what December 23, 1997… I've only had nightmares… and worry… I don't normally sleep more than 4 hours a night."

"Jo, babe, that's not healthy."

"Thank you, Dr. Dawson."

Antonio laughed. "I guess I deserve that… you sure you want me to sleep here? I can sleep on the floor."

"Antonio, I want to feel your arms around me."

"I'm scared I'd hurt you."

"Antonio, I've spent over a week in a hospital bed… the doctor's said I'm okay to be held or touched… I'm not going to break."

"Okay." Antonio smiled.

"Can you help me change?"

"Jo, now you're tempting the fates."

"Antonio, I'm not sleeping in this… and you're not coming to bed in jeans either."

"I'm not going to win, am I?"

Josie shook her head. "Nope." The 'p' really popped.

"Okay." Antonio turned around and helped Jes get out of her clothes and put on a long t-shirt. He couldn't help but admire the change that had happened 15 years ago, and how her body was changing now. He could still replay that night from 5 months ago in his head. Her body was changing now, but it was still her. "Josie…" His breath hitched.

She smiled. "That's much better. You can change."

"You randomly keep a spare change of clothes for me here?"

"No, but it's not like we haven't seen each other without clothes on."

"Josie, I'm not sleeping buck naked in your bed on the first night you're out of the hospital… with 4 teenagers across the hall… and your mother."

"Mom is in the suite in my basement… I took a page out of your parents' book. I'm not wanting sex, Antonio… I want you to hold me. Please." She batted her eyes at him while pleading.

"Okay." Antonio put his badge and gun on the dresser. He undid his belt and jeans, letting them drop to the floor. He pulled his shirt off and dropped it on top of his jeans. His socks quickly joined the pile. "Bed?"

Josie was speechless. She remembered the way he looked when they first got together. He had changed. It was probably because of his boxing and the amount of physical work needed in his UC work. His body was firmer now. He had a very defined 6-pack now. She couldn't help but notice the tattoos on his arms. She hadn't noticed them that night. His arms were ripped. She walked over to him and let her hands wander. This wasn't a sexual experience. This was rediscovering who he was.

"Jo." Antonio's voice cracked. "Babe."

"I… I haven't fully seen you… you've changed."

"It's been 15 years… since we…"

"What about when we made these babies?"

"Neither of us knew who the other really was… and neither of us really spent any time looking to see if the other was familiar." Antonio answered.

Josie nodded. "Yeah… um… you have tattoos."

Antonio looked at his arms. "Uh, yeah… the first one…" He flexed his bicep. "Is Eva's birthday… July 5, 2000… and this is Diego, when he was a baby… he always used to tell me 'You're the Best'."

"Wow." Josie said. She didn't know if he could see the hurt in her eyes. She knew it wasn't his fault and she wasn't going to ask him to go and get another tattoo, just because he had older children, but it still hurt that her children with him weren't there.

"You're upset." Antonio pushed a stray hair from her eyes. "I can see it."

"I kind of am… Xavier and Zoë don't have anything like that… and it's not your fault… it's not mine… and it just sucks that you haven't been there for them like you have for Eva and Diego." She hung her head.

Antonio lifted her chin. "Jo, none of this changes anything… all that this does is make me see how much work I have to do to bring our families together. To make one family together."

"I missed you, Antonio… every day for the last almost 16 years. I never stopped thinking about you… what we should've been… I dreamt that I'd finally get to be with you again… then what happened with Laura… that dream changed… I prayed that you could at least get to know your children… now here we are." She put her hands on her stomach. "Two sets of twins and a very confusing relationship later… your kids, our kids… now we all have to adjust because certain people couldn't just leave well enough alone."

"Josie, I'm not going anywhere… If I could, I'd marry you right this second… but I'm pretty sure that your parents will kill me, my parents would kill me… the kids… would kill us."

"So, no hopping on a plane to Vegas right now?" Josie's eyes twinkled.

"Are you saying you'd marry me right now?"

"Do you really think I need a lot of time to figure out how I feel about you? About us?"

"I don't know… Jo… after 15 years, most people can't just go back…"

"We're not most people, Antonio. I've wanted to spend my life with you since… I don't know when." She touched his cheek.

"What about the traditional wedding you've always wanted… the one I know you wanted when we started talking about that all those years ago?"

"Why can't we do a simple version? Just our families and a few friends."

"You're serious?"

Josie nodded. "I've never been more serious in my life. We can talk to a priest or a justice of the peace, whoever… get our license and get married."

"Don't weddings take forever to plan?"

"No, they don't have to. I don't need the poufy, white princess gown… I'm not a virgin… so there's no sense pretending. We don't need anything but our families."

"When do you want to do this?" Antonio's heart was racing. He vaguely remembered wedding planning with Laura and that had been a nightmare.

"Why not this coming weekend? I'll be healed enough; it gives us time to get things in order."

"Your mom and Zoë will be back in Paris." Antonio pointed out.

"Shit." Josie had had a momentary loss of memory.

"They'll be back in three weeks."

"I'll be three weeks bigger." Josie said.

"So?"

"What do you think the kids will say?"

Antonio sighed. "I don't know… but it's better to find out now then just spring it on them."

"Then… I guess we talk to them in the morning… wait… are you going to have to ask my mother… or father's permission?"

"Billy… I had asked Billy that day… I got it once, I'm not asking for it again." Antonio grinned. He put his arms around her. "Wrap your arms around my neck."

"Why?" Josie asked.

"Just, trust me."

Josie wrapped her arms around his neck and he carefully swept her into his arms. He carried her to the bed and laid her down. He turned off the lights and went to lie next to her. "I love you, Josie." He whispered. "I mean that."

"I love you too, Antonio… I never stopped." She rolled over and gently kissed his lips.

For close to 16 years, they'd been forced to live a lie. For close to 16 years, they'd been torn apart. In a matter of a couple weeks, they had been brought back together. It truly did seem like nothing had really changed in that time. Their bond was stronger than time. Their chemistry was undeniable. No matter what anyone else had to say, Antonio and Josie were meant to be together, and this time, the universe wasn't going to stop them. Antonio wrapped his arms around her like he used to and held her close. Josie nestled her head on his chest and the two fell asleep. They slept as if they hadn't slept in years.

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Josie woke up the next morning and actually felt refreshed. She looked up and saw Antonio was still there. It hadn't been a dream. "Thank God." She whispered.

"I already do." Antonio whispered back.

"Are you awake?" Josie asked.

"Yeah, I get up at 5 every morning, even on my days off." Antonio smiled. "I didn't want to move though… I forgot how beautiful you are when you sleep."

Josie blushed. "You don't have to suck up to me, Antonio… I'm yours."

Antonio kissed her. Neither of them could deny the physical attraction they shared or how their bodies were reacting to this. Josie deepened the kiss. Her hands began to trail down his chest. Her hands were millimetres from his waistband when there was a knock on the door.

"Mama?" Zoë's voice came from the other side of the door.

"Damn it." Josie muttered. She cleared her throat. "Yes, Zoë?"

"Are you up?"

"I wouldn't be answering you if I weren't up."

Zoë laughed nervously. "Is, uh… is Dad with… with you?"

"Yes." Josie answered.

"Oh. Um… should I start breakfast?"

"Sure, Zoë." Antonio said. "And the others with you can help you make it."

There was a scamper of feet heading down the stairs.

"How did you know the other kids were there?" Josie asked.

"It's a trick Eva does at home all the time… Diego's always there."

"Ah, I guess it's something I need to learn… having more than one child around at a time." Josie sighed. "I guess we should shower and get dressed."

"I guess we should… I also think we should talk about… our discussion last night."

"You think I forgot what you said." Josie tapped his chin.

"I doubt that. You have a perfect memory." Antonio kissed her finger. "I just don't want everybody jumping down your throat because we're moving too fast."

"Antonio, aren't we the ones to judge if it's going too fast? We're the ones who know what's best for our families… If you want to wait, I'll wait… if you want to do this today, I'll do it today. I don't want to have to live without you another day."

"Hey, Jo, I know that. I just want to make sure you are up to this… considering everything…"

"Antonio, just help me shower so we can go tell our kids… then we'll get everything else going."

"Okay." Antonio grinned. He lifted her off the bed and carried her to the shower. He pulled off her t-shirt and tossed it in the clothes hamper. It was quickly followed by her underwear. "You're beautiful."

"I'm covered in bruises, Antonio."

"You could be wearing a garbage bag and you'd still be beautiful." He ran his hands through her hair, pulling him towards her. He leaned down and kissed her.

Josie moaned softly as she could feel goosebumps cover her skin. Her hands went to the waist band of his boxer briefs. She pushed herself closer to him and pulled them down.

"Josie." He said. "Are… are…"

"Am I sure?" She reached for him. She gently stroked him, feeling him grow in her hand. "Yes, Antonio… I'm sure."

He grabbed her and lifted her to the counter, kissing her lips and tracing kisses down her neck and jaw. "God, Josie… you're going to be the death of me."

"Uh, nope… you're… oh… you're not dying anytime soon." She pulled him closer. "Antonio, please… I'm the one dying here."

"Well, we can't have that." He gently spread her legs. "Hold on to me."

Josie didn't hesitate. She wrapped her arms around him and pushed her hips upwards. She moaned as he filled her. Antonio had to fight to hold on. Her warmth and tightness just clung to him and almost pushed him over the edge.

"Oh, Jo…" He slowly thrust.

"Antonio… oh… yes!" Josie's nails dug into his back.

Antonio upped the tempo. Soon, they were collapsed against the counter, their breathing ragged.

"Okay… now I think…" Antonio worked to catch his breath. "We both need to shower."

Josie nodded. "Mhmm."

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"What is taking them so long?" Eva asked as she counted out utensils.

Xavier was putting in the leaves for the table to be full sized with Diego. "I don't think we want to know." He whispered.

Eva cringed. "Okay then." She handed Diego the cutlery and turned to Zoë. "What can I do now?"

"You can help me cut up some of the fruit." Zoë smiled. She was happy that she could share this with someone. Her mom and grandma had always been supportive of her in the kitchen, but they didn't always have the chance to be with her.

"Okay!" Eva took a cutting board from under the sink. She followed every instruction Zoë gave her. "So, you're going to be gone for three weeks?"

Zoë nodded. "Yeah, but I'll be back and I may decide to stick around here for the rest of high school."

"Really?" Eva was slicing strawberries. "Don't you like Paris?"

"Oh, I do, but I also have family here… I know that you like to cook and I don't always get to cook with other people, so I think I'd like to stay here and really get to know you and Diego… make it so we can all be a family."

"Wow." Eva blushed. "You guys don't, like… hate us… you know…"

"No, Eva." Xavier reappeared in the kitchen. "Are we a little jealous that you've gotten to spend time with Dad, yeah… but you guys are our siblings… we want to be a family… but we're not going to push you guys."

"What's to push?" Diego took the plates off the counter. "Josie is nice; you guys are nice… Dad's happy… I say that's a family."

Eva wasn't as enthusiastic as her little brother. "I guess."

"You're still worried, aren't you?" Zoë asked as she put the fruit onto a platter.

"A little bit." Eva sighed. "Josie is really nice, and I will give her a chance… I'm just scared that I'll forget my mom."

"Eva, I don't want to take your mom's place." Josie whispered.

The four kids jumped.

"Sorry. Didn't want to interrupt the bonding." Josie and Antonio came into the kitchen. "Eva, I know how much you love your mom, and I know… I know that it's hard to see your dad with someone other than her… but sweetheart, I don't want to replace her. I would love for us to be a family, but I don't ever expect you to call me 'Mom' or anything, and that's okay."

"I don't want you to think… that I don't want my dad to be happy." Eva stammered.

Antonio went over to her and hugged her. "Eva, we know that… and I know this is really hard. You're going to need time to adjust, that's okay. I love you and Diego and Josie and I can wait for everyone to be okay with this, but Josie and I have been talking about what we'd like for all of us."

The four kids looked to each other. In unison, they asked. "What does that mean?"

"We'll explain it over breakfast." Josie smiled. "Where's Mimi?"

"She hasn't come up yet." Xavier said. "We were going to ask if we should go wake her."

"I'll go." Josie said. "You guys visit with your dad. I'll be right back."

Josie left the kitchen and headed to the doorway that led to the basement suite. She quietly went down the stairs. She knocked on the door, but there was no answer. She pushed the door open and saw that her mother's keys were still on the hook and her purse was hanging on the coat rack. She also noticed a pair of men's boots next to her mother's. "What the…? She looked around. "Mama?"

There was no answer. Josie carefully looked around. There was no sign of her mother in the living space or kitchen of her suite. There was noise coming from the bathroom. Josie sat on the couch and quietly waited for her mother to come out.

 **Meanwhile…**

"Did you hear something?" Dixie asked as she turned off the tap.

"No."

"Hmm." Dixie slid the shower door open and pulled two towels from the towel rod. "Here."

"Thanks." He toweled himself off. "Think they noticed I came in last night?"

"I doubt it. You came in the back; no one would be really watching there. Plus, Josie should've been asleep and the kids too."

They toweled off and got dressed.

"Shit."

"What is it?"

"My shirt's on the floor in your living room."

"Well, go get it." Dixie laughed. "Then, I'll sneak you out."

He grinned. "You haven't really changed, have you?"

"I may be a little bit older, but I'm not a nun." She lightly smacked his arm. "Go on."

Josie's jaw dropped as she saw Hank Voight emerge from her mother's bathroom wearing nothing but a pair of jeans. "Uh, Sergeant?"

Hank froze in his tracks. "Uh… Josie."

"What are you doing in Mama's bathroom?" She asked.

"Uh… um… Dixie?" Hank called to her.

Dixie appeared. "Hank, what is… Oh shit."

"Hi Mama." Josie was tapping her foot on the floor. "Care to explain?"

"Um… no?" Dixie answered.

"Too bad. My house, remember? I want to know why my future boss… my biological father… is coming out of your bathroom, half dressed?"

"What did you say?" Dixie's jaw dropped.

"I know he's my real dad."

"How?" Dixie looked between her daughter and Hank. "Did you?"

"I didn't tell her."

"No, Antonio did… After Hank took a swing at him last night."

"Hank!" Dixie turned to him.

"They caught me yesterday."

"Oh, fuck!" Dixie punched the wall behind her. "I didn't want her stressed out."

"Mama, the lying is a hell of a lot more stressful than knowing that he's really my father."

"Josie…"

"Look, just… come upstairs… Antonio and I have some stay to talk to our families about… well, this family… his family I think already knows…" Josie turned to Hank. "I'm not really sure what I should call you… but, I'd like it if you joined us."

"For now, I guess you can call me Hank… until you feel comfortable with Dad or something like that."

"Okay, Hank. Uh, I guess you should meet your grandchildren and enjoy Zoë's cooking. She's making breakfast."

Hank looked to Dixie. She shrugged. "The cat's outta the bag now… may as well let it all out now."

"Oh, Hank." Josie handed him his t-shirt. "I'd like to accept that position in Intelligence, if it's still on the table."

Hank smiled, pulling the t-shirt over his head. "It is, and it's yours. I'll get the paperwork in motion on Monday. I'm proud to have you… and not just as my daughter."

The three headed upstairs. Josie signalled to Antonio to join them before they all went into the kitchen.

"Uh, what's going on here?" Antonio whispered.

"I caught Hank coming out of Mama's bathroom and as she puts it… the cat's out of the bag."

"I see." Antonio looked to Hank and Dixie. "Well, breakfast smells amazing." He put his arm around Josie. "Look, Dixie, I know you didn't want her to know, but I think it's best that she does."

Dixie sighed. "I know… I just… I wanted to not have her be the subject of the rumour mill again."

Hank put his hand on her shoulder. "I can squash the rumour mill… just as long as she's healthy and she does her job in Intelligence…"

"Wait, Jo… you already accepted?"

"I figured I shoulder before someone says I can't do it…" Josie smiled. "I'll be on desk duty for a while anyhow."

"Okay… let's go eat before the kids get suspicious." Dixie said.

They went into the kitchen to see plates loaded with crêpes, fresh berries and whipped cream. There were also plates of eggs, sausage and bacon. A bowl of fresh fruit sat in the centre of the table.

"Wow." Antonio exclaimed. "That looks amazing."

"It smells really good."

"Xavier, can you grab another setting for Hank, please?"

Xavier nodded. Zoë pulled out a footstool for him to sit at the end of the table. Hank thanked them as he sat next to Dixie. The kids were wondering why Antonio's boss was eating breakfast with them and were also wondering why Dixie was being flirty with him. They didn't say anything because they figured that they'd get the answer to those questions in time.

"Zoë, this is delicious." Antonio complimented his oldest daughter. "I can see why you got that scholarship."

Zoë blushed. "Thanks, Dad. Eva helped with the fruits and eggs. She's got real potential in the kitchen."

It was Eva's turn to blush. "Thanks, Zoë."

They continued to eat their meal making small chitchat. At the end of the meal, Xavier and Diego cleared the dishes.

"So, um… you guys are probably wondering why Sergeant Voight is here?" Dixie asked.

The kids nodded vigorously.

"Um, a long time ago… he worked with my husband… the man that raised your Mama… and one night… he and I… well… He is Josie's real father."

Antonio swore that the kids' jaws were on the table. "Yeah, and that's why I have my black eye this morning… he was a little mad… but we're all over that now, and he just wants to be a part of her life… and your guys' too."

"Wow… and I thought meeting my dad for the first time was a big deal." Xavier said. He turned to Hank. "Um, very nice to meet you. I'm Xavier."

"Hi, Xavier." Hank turned to Zoë. "And you're Zoë, the Iron Chef in the making?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Um, I don't think I'll be going back to Paris though… now that I actually have family here… I can be a part of something so much more than just a fancy culinary school in France."

Josie smiled. "I figured that's what you'd decide."

"How did you?" Zoë asked.

"I knew that once you met your siblings… and your dad, you would want to stay, and that's okay… we just want all of you guys to be happy." Josie smiled.

"Thanks Mama."

"So, what else… do you guys have to spring on us?" Xavier asked.

Antonio and Josie exchanged glances. "We do have other news…" Antonio started.

"First, we want you guys to know that there's been a lot of discussion on this and we're not just rushing into this…" Josie took Antonio's hand. "We have decided that we're going to get married next month."

Jaws hit the table, followed by. "Really? So soon?"

Hank and Dixie looked to each other. "You're serious?"

Josie nodded. "We've come to realize that even though almost 16 years have passed by, the feelings we have for each other haven't changed. Now, I know that this is a shock… and Eva and Diego, we know that it's a huge adjustment… but we don't want to drag this out… especially since I've also accepted the position in Intelligence."

"Mama, are you sure you wanna stay in the CPD?" Zoë asked.

"Yes, I love being a nurse, but being a detective… behind being a mother, is my true calling." Josie replied. "Look, we decided it was better to tell you guys now, instead of my original idea last night."

"What was that?" Dixie asked.

"Hop on a plane to Vegas and elope." Antonio said deadpanned.

"Dad!" Eva exclaimed. "That would so not be fair!"

Antonio was surprised at Eva's reaction. He thought that she would've been more pissed that they were getting married. "Well, that's why we're telling you and we're going to do it in a month."

"Can you plan a wedding in that short amount of time?" Diego asked. "I thought it always too forever to plan one?"

Antonio couldn't help but laugh. "Diego, it can if you're planning a wedding for the royal family… Josie and I just want it to be simple and we want it to be family and friends."

Diego turned to Eva. "Think you can live with this?"

She nodded slowly. "It's not like we have a lot of choice in it, but I think if we all work on it, we can really be a family… I kinda like this." She smiled. "Having a big sister and brother is really cool… and I think it's cool."

"Well, good… so now we just need to plan the when and where of it." Antonio smiled.

Hank turned to him. "I don't see a ring on her finger."

"Uh, well… I didn't really have time to run home and get the ring I bought 16 years ago."

Josie turned to him, this time it was her jaw that dropped. "You kept it?"

"It's not the ring you gave Mom?" Eva asked.

Antonio replied. "No, Eva… it's not the same ring. Your mom's ring is safe waiting for you guys to be a little older. And yes, Jo… I kept it… I couldn't just sell it… part of me… held out hope."

"Dad, you should go get it." Diego prodded him.

"I will, after we tell Abuela and Abuelo… and your aunts and uncle."

"How well is that going to go over?" Hank asked. He really hadn't interacted with anyone from Antonio's family other than Gaby.

"Who knows? You guys haven't killed us yet… so, as long as everyone understands that this is Josie's and my decision and we're happy… I really don't care." Antonio squeezed Josie's hand. "This is our second chance, and we're not going to wait around for something or someone to try and put a wedge between us."

"Well, we will do whatever we can to help plan and organize this." Dixie smiled. She was a little worried that this was all happening so fast, but she also knew how important this was to Josie.

"I appreciate that." Josie smiled to her mother. She suspected her mom wasn't overly thrilled considering she just dropped the bomb that she was getting married and joining Intelligence. However, it wasn't as big of a bomb drop as finding out that Hank Voight was truly her father and catching him in her mother's suite coming out of the bathroom, half-dressed. She looked to Zoë and Eva. "Girls, I'd really like it if you stood next to us on that day."

"Me?" Eva pointed to herself. "Really?"

Josie nodded. "Of course. We're going to be family, and I don't want you to feel left out or as if you don't matter, because you do."

"Wow, okay… yeah. That'll… that'll be fun."

Antonio turned to the boys. "Will you two stand next to me as well?"

The boys didn't hesitate to answer. "Yes!"

"Well, I guess the hardest part is done." Antonio grinned. "I think I'm going to head next door and tell my parents."

"You want me to come?" Josie asked.

"I can keep an eye on the kids." Dixie smiled.

"I'll help… I guess I should really get to know my grandkids." Hank offered a rare smile.

Antonio nodded. "Okay, well… we'll be right next door… and if you need anything… you know where to find us."

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Josie and Antonio grabbed their shoes and headed next door. Josie was a little nervous. She hadn't really spent any time with Antonio's family since she came back. Liliana and Gaby had come over from time to time to spend time with Xavier and Zoë. She knew that all of Antonio's family knew she was actually alive, but she wasn't sure how they'd react to all of this news.

Antonio stopped halfway across the lawn.

"Antonio? What's wrong?" Josie asked.

"Voight… your dad… what the hell are we calling him?"

"Hank… for now." Josie answered.

"Okay, Hank… made a good point."

"About what?"

"I really should put that ring on your finger."

"Antonio, we can get the ring later and you can do a real proposal if you want, but right now… I'm just anxious as hell to tell your parents."

"Why? My parents love you." Antonio said.

"This may seem too rushed for them… I'm pretty sure my mom wasn't thrilled about it. I'm surprised all 4 kids didn't freak out."

"I think they've seen what we have… and they have each other now… something that's going to make this decision and transition easier." Antonio grinned. "Are you having second thoughts, Jo?"

"No, Antonio… I'm not… I just need to be able to not worry that we're going to be criticized for jumping into this."

"Maybe we should just to elope to Vegas." Antonio suggested.

"That would really piss people off." Josie groaned. "Let's just go do this."

They walked up the steps and rang the bell.

"Wait, Antonio… is Gaby going to be here… I have something to ask her."

"I texted her while you went to find your mom." Antonio kissed her cheek. "Jo, this is going to be okay… it's not conventional, but when have we ever been conventional."

"Yeah, you're right." Josie concluded. He did have a point. Nothing they had ever done was conventional.

The door swung open. "Antonio!" Lilianna greeted her son. "How are you, mijo?"

"I'm good, Mami." Antonio hugged his mother. "Um, I brought someone… and we have news."

Josie poked her head around Antonio. "Hola, Lilianna."

"Josie!" Lilianna pushed Antonio aside. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing much better, thank you." Josie hugged her.

"Come in, come in." Lilianna stepped aside to allow them in the house. "Gaby is here. She said you have news?"

They followed her into the family room where Tiago, Rebecca, Gaby and Miguel were seated. Gaby got up and ran to greet Josie.

"Oh my God! You're okay! Thank God!" Gaby hugged her tightly.

"Ouch!" Josie exclaimed. "Gentle, Gaby… pregnant remember?"

"Pregnant?!" Tiago exclaimed. He turned to Antonio, glaring. "Explain?"

"That's why we're here." Antonio sighed. "Gaby, let go of her, and we'll tell you everything."

Antonio sat on the arm of the chair that had been saved for Josie. He put his arm around her shoulder as she leaned into him.

"It is so good to see you alive and well." Miguel grinned. "Life… hasn't been the same without you."

"I missed you all so much." Josie replied. "I thought about you all everyday… all the time. I wish I could've told you soon that I was alive… that I had twins."

"Mami told us about Xavier and Zoë." Rebecca said. "Showed us the pictures you gave her… we can't wait to meet them."

"They can't wait to meet you either." Antonio said. "Um, so two major announcements. First, Josie has been offered and accepted a position in Intelligence, starting after her Mat Leave… well, actually I guess there are three major announcements… Yes, Josie is pregnant… with identical twins and I am the father… we, uh…"

"We ended up meeting while undercover about 5 months back and well…" She patted her belly. "This is the end result."

"Are they healthy?" Lilianna asked.

Josie nodded. "Very. Very healthy and active. Doc said that they're due in October."

"Then, it's a blessing." Miguel said. "And this position in the CPD… is this similar to what Antonio does?"

"Yes, it will be, but for now, I'll be on desk duty until the babies are born, then we'll figure out what happens after that." Josie looked to Antonio. "Which brings us to point number 3."

"Wait, hang on a second…" Tiago tossed his hands up in the air. "I thought you wanted to be a nurse… you said that, you know… back then."

"I am a nurse, but it wasn't enough to pay the bills in New Orleans, so I joined the NOPD, made Detective, then moved here. I've been a CPD Vice Detective for a few years now."

"And you two never ran into each other in all this time?" Rebecca asked.

"Surprisingly, no." Josie laughed. "I don't know what could've happened if we had, but we're here now and we're moving forward."

"So, what's point 3?!" Gaby was bursting at the seams. She wanted to know what this news was.

Antonio and Josie exchanged glances then grinned. "We're getting married."

"Que?!" Lilianna exclaimed. "En serio?!"

"Si, Mami." Antonio said. "We're getting married."

"Isn't that rushing things?" Tiago asked hesitantly. "You've just found each other again… the kids… how are they taking this?"

"Well… Eva was a little worried but she's instantly bonded with Zoë and Xavier and Diego are already attached at the hip." Antonio laughed. "They were a little worried that we're moving fast but when we explained that our feelings never changed and that we're going to make our family work, they said it was okay and that we'd all work on it."

"So when's the wedding?" Gaby asked. Maybe they were moving fast, but considering that they'd been pulled apart all those years ago, and neither had really been able to move on, this made sense.

"Next month." Josie answered non-chalantly.

"How? What?" Tiago and Rebecca were shocked. "That's not enough time."

"We don't want the big fancy wedding." Antonio patted Josie's hand. "I had that with Laura… and it got us nowhere…"

"Mijo, you never truly loved Laura… we all know that… your heart has always belonged to Josie." Miguel spoke the words that were in everyone's minds.

"Papi." Antonio started.

"Antonio, your parents know you… and I don't think now is the time to argue that." Josie whispered. "Laura is gone… that's your past."

"Yeah… Josie is your future… with 6 kids." Gaby grinned. "I will help in any way possible."

"Good." Josie answered. "Will you be my Maid of Honour?"

"You serious?" Gaby's jaw dropped.

"Yeah, you were my best friend… still are… you've always been there."

"Definitely! I'd be honoured!" Gaby jumped up and hugged Josie and Antonio. "We should maybe start planning soon."

"After Zoë and Mama go back to Paris to finish her semester out, we can plan… I do want to go get dresses picked out though… before they leave Sunday night."

"So, Zoë and Eva are going to be in the wedding party?" Lilianna asked.

"Yep. They'll be junior bridesmaids, and Gaby will be Maid of Honour." Josie beamed. "I don't want it over complicated. I just want simple and to be close family and friends."

"Well, then if you two are happy, who are we to stand in your way." Miguel got off his Lazy Boy and hugged his son and future daughter-in-law. "I am so proud of you both, and I know that this was always meant to be."

"Gracias." Josie kissed his cheek. "I've missed this."

"We've missed you too, mija." Miguel smiled. "We'll have to have everyone over for supper before Zoë goes back to school, huh?"

"Oh, I think she wants to cook for you." Antonio said proudly. "She's in Paris for a cooking program… I'm sure she'd love to cook for everyone."

"Most definitely." Josie agreed. "You're all invited over tonight."

"Uh, Antonio?" Gaby asked, looking out the window. "Why is Voight at Josie's?"

"What?!" Tiago raced to join Gaby at the window. "She's not lying. Antonio, I thought you hated him?"

Josie snickered. "You may as well tell them, prevent them all from having coronaries."

"Mijo, what is she talking about?" Lilianna was staring out the window too.

"Hank Voight… is Josie's biological father." Antonio said, dead-panned.

All heads turned to face them.

Josie sighed. "We just found out. Literally… that and I caught him trying to sneak out of Mama's basement suite this morning."

"OH hell no!" Gaby's hand covered her mouth. "Seriously?"

"Yep… Mama had a one night stand with him… and here I am… now, we're kinda all reeling from the news."

Tiago looked to his brother. "You okay with having arrested him last year… and having him as your boss."

"He didn't know the truth for 33 years… we're all going to have to adjust to this." Antonio rubbed his jaw. "We just want to be able to have our lives together, the way it was meant to be."

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 _ **A/N: Well, there you have it… maybe not necessarily how some people would see it, but if it's true love… why wait? ;) Anyhow, more to come soon. A new update to "The Rose" will be coming shortly.**_

 _ **All the best and let me know what you think! I know that some of you may find this odd… but bear with me… this will all make sense in a while. I promise. Lots of love! Nicole**_


	9. I Need You

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After driving Dixie and Zoë to the airport for their final three weeks in France, Antonio arranged a special picnic for her. Gaby had set everything up for him. They headed out to the lakefront and walked a short distance to the quiet spot he had picked. It may not have been what he had planned when he wanted to propose back then, but like they had come to the conclusion, they had changed. The one thing that hadn't changed was their feelings towards each other. Despite some people being against them getting married so soon, they were still going through with it because it was their life. Antonio felt his pocket to make sure the ring box was in it. He smiled, holding her hand as they drove to the park. He parked his truck and helped her from the cab. He then reached in the back seat and pulled out a picnic basket. He extended his arm. "I thought we could have a nice quiet picnic before heading back to the insanity of our wedding planning."

"I like that idea." Josie grinned, slipping her arm through his. "Lead the way."

Josie gasped when she saw the picnic site. There was a blanket set up with some twinkling LED candles. Josie suspected that Gaby had something to do with it. There was also a bottle of something chilling on ice. Knowing Gaby, it wasn't going to be champagne because of the baby. Antonio put the basket down and helped her get onto the blanket. "Antonio, this is beautiful." She grinned. "You remembered I loved picnics."

"I did… and I know you always wanted to have a picnic by the lake at sunset, so… here we are."

"Thank you." Josie took his hand. "It means a lot… to be able to finally do all the things we talked about… after all this time."

Antonio pulled her closer and kissed her deeply. "I can't make up for the years I've missed… but I can make things work now…" He reached into his pocket. He saw that the sun was beginning to sink under the horizon. Now was the time. He pulled out the ring box. "Josie, I've loved you since the moment I first laid eyes on you that day 16 years ago… I never wanted anything more in life than to spend my life with you. I've dreamt about this every day since I found out you were here, alive… with our children. I know you've already said yes, but… will you make me the happiest man alive and make it official? Will you marry me?" He popped open the ring box.

Josie gasped. The ring sparkled in the setting sun. The center diamond was a blush toned diamond in a tear-drop shape. On either side of it were two tiny tear-drop diamonds on their sides. The main diamond was surrounded by a thin halo of tiny diamonds and there were diamonds that went halfway around the band. "Yes, Antoino… I wouldn't have it any other way."

Antonio let out a quick breath and pulled the ring from its box. He took her left ring finger and slid it on. It was still a perfect fit. "Much better."

Josie kissed him deeply. "You have no idea… how amazing all of this has been, Antonio. Oh!" She grabbed his hand. "They're moving."

Antonio grinned. "Wow. Wow… that's… Oh, Jo… I missed this…"

"You're here now." Josie stroked his cheek. "We've got a chance to make this all work now."

"So, I asked Gaby to get something celebratory… and obviously, we can't do champagne… so she got us a sparkling peach thing… she said it's really good."

"I'm all for it." Josie took two glasses from the picnic basket. "Hey, what on Earth did you all pack?" She handed him the glasses.

Antonio popped the cork from the sparkling juice and poured them each some. "The kids insisted on packing it… and wouldn't tell me what's in there."

Josie laughed. "Well, a toast… to our family… our future."

They clinked their glasses and took a sip.

"Gaby's got good taste, huh, Antonio?" Josie took another sip. She loved the taste of peaches, having spent the majority of her life in the South.

"I'll admit I'm not missing the alcohol. Shall we see what our kids decided we should eat for our romantic picnic?"

"May as well."

Antonio opened the basket and laughed. "I think they assume we're never coming home."

"Why?" Josie leaned in and joined in the laughter. "Oh boy."

Antonio started pulling out individually wrapped sandwiches, of which there were over a dozen of various varieties. He then pulled out a couple small containers, each filled with a different salad. There were also some fresh fruit and some fresh veggies. "They take after you." Antonio closed the basket.

"Me? How so?" She asked.

"You always made so much food, even if it was just the two of us."

Josie blushed. "I guess I was practicing for having 6 kids."

Antonio offered her a sandwich. "I don't think either of us ever imagined having 6 kids."

"No, but in the short time that Zoë and Xavier have spent with Eva and Diego, they've really clicked. They're already planning who sleeps in which room when you decide to move in." Josie nibbled on her chicken salad sandwich.

"So, the kids have decided for me that we're moving into your place?" Antonio ate some of the carrot sticks.

"I guess so." Josie shrugged. "I think it's because mine is bigger."

"Well, I can't argue there. Maybe I could rent my place out, earn us a little more income."

"That will come in handy." Josie took some of the grapes from the basket. "So, Hank asked if we could go with him to get the Buick he's got lined up for me."

"When?"

"Monday, after he introduces me to the rest of the team."

"Well, for right now, it's Jules, me, him and Al Olinsky… Oh, and Jin… he's our Tech guy. I'm not sure how many people Voight actually wants in Intelligence."

"You really can't get over the fact that he's my dad, can you?" Josie finished her sandwich and took some of the pasta salad.

"No, honestly, I can't… He and I tend to butt heads… and I don't think he's forgiven me for tossing his ass in jail last year."

"You were doing your job." Josie squeezed his hand. "He's going to have to get over it eventually, just because I'm biologically his daughter… doesn't mean he's going to be able to pull the 'dad' card for a long time… I've loved you for a lot longer than I've known he's my dad."

"Have you told him that?"

"Not yet, but if I have to, I will. My love and loyalty are to you, and our family. No one else."

"I love you." Antonio kissed her. "You are the most rational and reasonable person I have ever met."

"I'm just being me." Josie shivered. "Oh, it's getting chilly…"

"Here." Antonio took his jacket and threw over her shoulders. "Better?"

Josie nodded. "Yeah."

Antonio repacked the basket and pulled her into his arms. They just sat there, watching the sun finish going down and the stars come up.

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The next morning, Antonio and Josie were getting ready to head to their first shift together in Intelligence. Xavier had promised to take Diego to school and to go with him to baseball after. Diego was ecstatic. He couldn't wait to introduce his big brother to all his friends. Eva was a little less ecstatic than her little brother, but she was still happy to know she wasn't going to have to take the bus by herself. She was also happy to know that the next school year, Zoë would be home and she'd be in the same school as the twins. She was finishing packing her lunch when the doorbell rang.

"Dad! Someone's at the door!"

"Could one of you kids get it?" Antonio called back.

Xavier shouted. "I got it." Xavier ran to the door and opened it. "Jules… uh, hi."

"Hey, Xavier… how's everything?" Jules asked.

"Uh, fine… I guess… we're all just adjusting, slowly." Xavier stepped back. "Uh, come in. Don't need to be standing out there in the rain."

"Thanks, Xavier."

"Mom! Dad!" Xavier shouted up the stairs. "Jules is here!"

Jules shrugged. "Kids are the same no matter what age. Emmy and Liam do that all the time and they're way younger than you."

Xavier grinned. "They'll only get louder as they get older."

"Not something I'm looking forward to, but thanks Xavier." Jules patted his back. "You should, uh, probably finish getting ready." She pointed to her watch.

Xavier nodded and went to check if Diego and Eva were ready to head out for the bus. Antonio and Josie came down the stairs.

"Well, well, well…" Jules was tapping her foot. "Don't you guys look cute together."

"Take your shoes off, come grab some coffee." Antonio said as they headed to the kitchen.

"Sure." Jules kicked off her shoes, placed them and followed Antonio and Josie into the kitchen.

The kids hugged their parents, grabbed their umbrellas and headed out to catch the bus. The grown-ups had the house to themselves.

"So?" Jules took the cup of coffee Antonio offered her.

"So, what?" Josie asked as she made herself a cup of tea.

"Are the rumours true?" Jules added some cream and sugar to her coffee.

"What rumours?" Antonio arched an eyebrow.

"Uh, where do I start?" Jules sipped the coffee. "Damn, Antonio! What the hell did you put in this coffee!?"

"It's a Dominican thing… we like our coffee strong." Antonio laughed. He had barely added anything to his.

Josie snickered. "Thank God I don't drink coffee…"

"I think that's because of the baby." Jules said. "You drank coffee all the time before."

"My coffee, not tar." Josie pointed to her cup. "Want more sugar?"

"Yep." Jules took the sugar container and added more sugar to her cup.

Antonio almost snorted his coffee as he watched the amount of sugar she was adding to her coffee. "Would you like some coffee with your sugar?"

"Shut it, Dawson." Jules punched his arm. "So, dish."

"About what?" Josie asked, grabbing a bagel.

"The rumours!"

"What fucking rumours, Jules?" Antonio demanded. "I haven't really been in the office for a while."

"That you two are officially engaged, for starters." Jules sighed.

Josie held out her left hand. "Confirmation enough?"

Jules' jaw dropped. "Damn, Dawson! You held onto that ring all these years?"

Antonio snorted. "You sound surprised."

"Do you know how much you could've made on it?"

"The sentimental and emotional value are more than anything I could've gotten financially." Antonio took Josie's hand. "We're getting married, end of story."

"So, next rumour?" Josie asked.

"That you're getting married right away."

"That's also true." Josie blushed. "August 17."

"Wow… uh, how… how did you get all that planned?" Jules had assumed that Olinsky had been making this one all up.

"We're still working out a few kinks, but it's in the works." Antonio said, putting his coffee mug in the dishwasher.

"Okay… who's all invited?" Jules handed him her empty mug.

"That's part of the in progress aspect." Josie finished her tea. "There's a bigger question isn't there? I can see it eating at you."

"Uh, this one is a more complicated… um… is… is it true that… your…"

"That my biological father is Hank Voight?" Josie said casually.

Jules' eyes bulged. "Uh, yeah."

"It's true… and yeah, it's going to be weird. Trust me, we've been dealing with the weirdness here… Hank is over a lot, trying to catch up with me and the kids… and he's still kinda into my mom…" Josie sighed. "It also doesn't help that he's not overly thrilled about me and Antonio being together."

"Is this going to make a mess in Intelligence?" Jules looked between the two of them.

"Not if Voight doesn't play the 'Dad' card and he doesn't treat her like she's a porcelain doll." Antonio grabbed his jacket. "He's going to have to accept it, because neither of us are backing down on what we want in life."

"Well, let's head out then." Jules sighed. "I'm intrigued to see how this is going to go."

They arrived at the District in a short amount of time. Josie had a meeting with Platt to get her own entry information to get into Intelligence and to finalize the transfer from Vice to Intelligence. Antonio was waiting to meet with Jay Halstead about his latest update concerning the mobster trying to shake down Molly's.

"Hey, Antonio." Jay shook his hand.

"Jay." Antonio leaned against his desk. "So, what's the news?"

"He's a piece of work… he's got almost every business up and down that street paying him protection money."

"Fuck." Antonio groaned. "Okay, Gaby doesn't know you're a cop, right?"

Jay shook his head. "Nope. I plan on keeping it that way."

"Okay… Just know… something happens to her… or that bar… I'm gonna lay you out… got it?"

Jay nodded. "Yeah, man… I got it."

The two bumped fists and Jay made his way to go do his 'work' with Arthur. Antonio ran his hand through his hair. He didn't want Gaby or anyone from 51 involved with that asshole, but they also had to get this guy off the streets.

"Hey, Antonio… everything okay?" Josie tapped his shoulder.

"Yeah, babe." He smiled.

"What's that all about?"

"Uh, that's Jay… He's UC trying to take down that wannabe mobster that's been shaking down my sister and her friends that own Molly's."

"Ah… Gaby doesn't know he's a cop, does she?"

"Nope… and you're not going to tell her either."

"Okay, well, lead me up to Intelligence, Detective." Josie batted her eyes at him.

Antonio led her up the stairs into Intelligence. Everyone that was in the bullpen froze when Josie and Antonio got there. Hank had his back turned at the whiteboard. Erin tapped him on the shoulder.

Hank spun around. "Ah, well… I guess it's time to do some introductions."

Antonio nudged Josie to center of the room. "Everyone, this is Detective Josie Duplessis… our newest member of Intelligence."

There was a round of applause and congratulations. Hank got everyone to quiet down. "I know the rumour mill has been running at full speed in the last few weeks. So, let me clear a few of them up. First off, Detective Duplessis is here because of her work getting a major pimp and dealer off our streets. Secondly, some of you may remember that Antonio had gone through a lot of drama about 16 years back… that the girl he loved was supposedly killed… well, she's alive… her name is changed and they're now getting married… Congrats you two."

There was more applause and Olinsky patted Antonio on the back. "Couldn't be happier for you two."

Jin scratched his head. "Wait… she's Josie Fraser?"

Hank sighed. "Yeah, Jin… 'cept Billy Fraser isn't Josie's dad… That's the other rumour that needs to be addressed."

Erin arched an eyebrow. Hank was like a father to her and he hadn't said anything about it to her. "Hank?"

Josie wanted to hide behind Antonio for this part. She knew a lot of people were going to be questioning her appointment to Intelligence. This news wasn't going to help.

"Josie's mother and I… we go back… she actually introduced me to Camille… a little while after we had a one-night fling… and she got pregnant with Josie… so yes, I am her father… and no, she didn't get this position because I'm her biological father. She got it because she's that good. She was homicide in New Orleans before moving back and being a part of Vice. I think, maybe I should let Josie finish her introduction."

"Thanks, Hank." Josie blushed. "Uh, hi y'all. I'm Josephine Duplessis, but prefer if you call me Josie or Jo… I am engaged to Antonio… it was made official last night… the wedding is August 17… and we are expecting… the twins are due in October…"

"Twins?!" Erin exclaimed. "Jesus Christ! Wow! Congrats!"

"Thanks, Erin." Antonio smiled. "Um, we've officially merged our two families… Eva and Diego are getting used to having older siblings just fine…"

"Older… siblings?" Al asked this time.

"Hank? You couldn't tell them everything?" Josie crossed her arms.

"Nope… figured you two could shock them all." Hank laughed softly.

"Antonio and I were together back in my senior year of high school… we got pregnant… I was 17, he was 21… I got shipped off for my own protection and no one told Antonio… I was pregnant with twins… they were born in New Orleans, June 2, 1998… my 18th birthday… I raised them with my mama until now… Antonio just found out a couple weeks ago… Xavier and Zoë are thrilled to have our family back together… and Mama and Hank seem to be making things work for themselves too."

More jaws dropped with the news that Hank Voight was dating again. Al wasn't overly surprised, considering he'd been the one to drive Hank to the bar to meet with Dixie. Erin was just in shock. Hank had been keeping a lot of secrets and she was going to get answers.

"Well, now that that's been cleared up, Josie will be on desk duty here until she comes back from Mat Leave… then we'll figure out everything else." Hank dismissed them.

Erin followed him into his office and closed the door. "What the fuck, Hank?"

"I beg your pardon." Hank leaned back in his chair.

"You have a daughter? You're dating her mother? What the hell else have you been hiding?!"

"Erin, calm down… remember where you are."

"Hank… I've known you since I was about 14… you've never kept secrets from me… how could… did Camille know?"

Hank shook his head. "No, she didn't. I didn't find out until Josie was being released from the hospital that I was her father. Her mother didn't want to tell me sooner out of respect for Camille. They were close friends back in the day."

"Does Justin know he has an older sister and nieces and nephews?"

Hank sighed. "No and I don't know how to tell him. He's in Statesville and he's mad at the world… he blames me for not keeping him out."

"Hank, he had to hit rock bottom… you said it yourself."

"I know." Hank rubbed his jaw. "Look, right now, I'm dealing with a lot of new things. Yes, I'm seeing Josie's mother, Dixie… and I'm trying to get to know my daughter and my grandchildren… and I'm dealing with the fact that I've missed out on 33 years of her life and now she's marrying Antonio… it's… complicated."

"I'll say." She collapsed into a chair. "Are you okay with all this?"

"I can't say she can't marry him. They have 2 kids already together and another two on the way… she's accepting his kids into their life seamlessly… she's happy… Look Christmas Eve 1997, I forced Josie onto a plane… away from Antonio and the man who raised her as his daughter… she only found out that he wasn't her father back in 2003… they thought she'd be a match for a liver donation but she wasn't… and he died shortly after."

"I vaguely remember him… he was a close friend, right?"

Hank nodded. "Look, don't tell Justin… just… give me time to come up with how I can tell him."

"Whatever you want, Hank… it's your family."

Hank nodded. "Don't be too hard on her."

"Me?"

"Erin, you've been like a daughter to me all these years… you're protective of me… and I don't want that to change… but I also know that you two are both strong and independent women who will butt heads… try not to… for me?"

Erin brushed her hair behind her ear. "Sure thing."

"Thanks, Erin… send Al in… I need to go over some things with him."

She got up and nodded. "Yep… I'll uh, go check see if Josie needs any help settling in."

Antonio pointed to his desk. "I sit here, Jules is across from me, Erin is next to me… not sure where you're gonna sit. We're still a little low on furniture."

"I can take the desk here." She leaned against the desk that was meant to be for a receptionist.

"For now." Jules laughed. "You do the same quality of work as you were in Vice; you may need your own office."

"I am not wanting to be a Sergeant or Lieutenant, thank you." Josie examined the desk she'd chosen. "Well, what exactly should I be doing?"

Erin Lindsay walked up to the group. She extended her hand. "Hi, Josie… I'm Erin… uh, I've known Hank a long time… he…"

"Antonio told me how Hank took you in… He also told me you're a no nonsense cop who kicks ass." Josie smiled as she shook Erin's hand. "Maybe you can give me a little insight into who Hank Voight really is."

Erin was surprised. Most people, when they found out about her connection to Voight, wanted to turn and run. "Sure… um, Hank asked me to help Antonio and Jules get you settled in… go over our systems, records, bring over your CI files… see what you can do until the babies get here, and congrats again… really."

"Thanks. I appreciate it." Josie smiled. "Am I okay to take this desk?"

"Totally. Heck, if you want, I can move and you can have the desk next to Antonio."

"Naw, I'm good here… I can kind of see everything that's happening around here."

"Cool… So, let's talk about how Hank does things… and Jules and Antonio can fill in anything I miss."

By the end of shift, Josie was feeling comfortable with the set-up in Intelligence. She and Antonio were about to head home when Hank called them into his office.

"Yeah, Boss?" Antonio said.

"Have a seat." Voight motioned to the two chairs in front of his desk. They sat down, unsure of what he had to say to them. "Josie, how'd your first day go?"

"Good… a lot to learn, but I have time… I'm not going into the field any time soon."

"Good. Good." Voight nodded. "Once you are ready for the field, we've got your CPD issued vehicle… a brand new Nissan X-Terra. Great for handling in the winter… and sturdy." Hank didn't add on that he had had it customized to be bomb and bullet resistant. He might not be able to play the 'dad' card, but he wasn't about to let his daughter get killed in the line of duty.

"Sweet." Josie grinned. "I… Thank you."

"No problem. You've earned it." Voight said. "I uh, also arranged to have the Buick I was looking at for you, delivered here. It should be in the roll up."

"Wait, Hank… you didn't need to buy me a new SUV."

"I did… You need to focus on healing… taking care of all the kids… planning the wedding… it's the least I can do… plus it's for your family… not just you."

"He makes a valid point." Antonio said. "Just, let's go see it… it'll help… there's no way a little car is going to work with two sets of twins and two other children."

"Okay, let's go." Josie smiled.

Hank led them to the rollout and Josie's jaw hit the floor. It wasn't just a new Buick… it was a brand new Buick Enclave. It had room for up to 8 passengers. It was a deep sapphire blue and had chrome rims. Josie turned to Hank. "Hank! This… no way… this is too much."

"Josie, I know that I've missed out on everything and I can't make up for that, but please… let me gift this to you and my grandkids." Hank's eyes were becoming teary.

Antonio hadn't seen Voight showing any emotions in all the years he'd known him. "Jo," He whispered. "He's your dad… let him in… he's trying." He never thought he'd see the day where he was actually supporting Hank Voight's decisions on anything.

Josie nodded. She turned back to look at the Enclave then she went to her father and hugged him. "Thanks… Dad."

Hank was in shock. He hadn't thought he'd ever hear her say that. He wrapped his arms around her. "Anything for you and the kids… I just want what's best."

Josie nodded, wiping away a stray tear. "It's going to take a while… getting used to all this, but… I think we'll get there."

"I'm glad to hear it."

She looked at him and very seriously said, "Just… don't hurt Mama… or break her heart, because that's going to be a problem."

"I promise… your mom and I… we're still in the, as the kids call it, 'Dating' phase… but we've both had our share of heartbreak, so we'll just take it day by day."

"Uh, does Justin know yet?" Antonio asked.

Hank shook his head. "Haven't found a way to tell him."

"Why don't we go there, together and tell him… it's not like he can get too out of control." Josie suggested.

Hank looked to Antonio. "Sure… can we go now?"

Antonio nodded. "I think my parents can handle the kids for a little while longer. I'll just give them a call on the way."

"Can I take my new car out for a test spin?" Josie asked excitedly.

Hank extended the keys. "Go for it." Antonio was going to sit in the back, but Hank got in. "Sit with her. I think I can sit in the back… at least there's no handcuffs this time."

Josie snickered. "Just give me the directions and we'll go tell him."

It took over an hour to get to Statesville in the traffic that night. Hank had called the Warden ahead of time. They got through security fairly quickly, handing over their guns, but keeping their badges. Antonio had agreed to hang out towards the back to not upset Justin. Josie had inquired as to why. Antonio then had to admit that not only had he arrested her father but her brother as well. She had just sighed and came to the conclusion that she was finally getting the family drama everyone had always complained about. They waited for about 15 minutes before Justin came into the family visiting space.

"Pop!" Justin was grinning. "What… what are you doing here? Ya don't normally come twice in one week."

Hank hugged him. "I can't come see my son?"

"Well, yeah… I'm not gonna complain." Justin looked over to Josie. "Uh, who's she?" He then saw Antonio in the back. "What the fuck, Pop? What's _HE_ doing here?"

"Boss, I can leave." Antonio headed for the door.

"No, 'Tonio… it's fine. Uh, Justin, let's sit." Hank motioned to the tables.

Justin glared at Antonio but did as his father asked. Josie sat across from him, next to Hank. "Pop, what's going on?"

"Uh… a lot… has changed." Hank started. "I just learned some things over the last few weeks, and I've been processing them and trying to figure out how to tell you."

"Tell me what, Pop? You sick or… or… dying?" Justin's voice showed his worry.

"No… no, Justin, I'm perfectly healthy. It's more of something from my past that I've just learned about." Hank wasn't really sure how to tell all of this to Justin. He didn't want to hurt his son, but at the same time, he didn't want to hurt Josie either.

"Just tell me, like… I don't… understand… who is she?"

Josie sighed. She knew this was hard for Hank. "My name is Josie Duplessis… I'm a detective in Intelligence and… I'm your sister."

Justin's jaw dropped and Hank heaved a sigh of relief. He was happy she could be blunter about it.

"Pop, what's she talking about?"

"Before your mother and I met… I had a one-night thing with a friend's girlfriend because of dumb reasons… we both should've said no, but we didn't… she and he got back together and they got married… Josie was born shortly after… they… they assumed he was her father but he wasn't… I just found out… and I've been trying to find a way to tell you."

"So, Mom never knew that you had slept around on her?" Justin's fists were clenched.

"I didn't even know your mother yet… Josie's mom introduced me to her shortly before their wedding… I get that this feels like a betrayal but you need to know you have a sister now… and 15-year-old niece and nephew too."

"Woah! Wait, how…" Justin faced Josie. "Okay, so my parents met…"

"About 34 years ago?" Josie finished. "I'm 33… Xavier and Zoë… were born on my 18th birthday…"

"They're twins?" Justin began to relax.

"Yeah. Xavier is the oldest of the two… and I'm pregnant again… twins…"

"Woah… wait… who… their dad?"

Antonio waved from the back of the room.

"That's why Antonio's here… he's both sets of twins' dad… and I'm marrying him in August." Josie said calmly. "I get you aren't his biggest fan… and you have your reasons, I wouldn't ask either of you to change those opinions… but I do want to have the chance of making some sort of relationship work…"

"So, you've been with him all this time and you waited 15 years… wait… isn't he, like, married with kids?"

"My wife died 7 years ago and my two kids with her are adjusting just fine to having Josie as they're step-mother." Antonio answered from the back. "Josie and I were neighbors… but she was taken away for her own protection before we could tell anyone about the baby… I thought she was dead…"

"I was the one who, at the request of her mother, pulled her from Chicago and sent her back to New Orleans."

"Well, that explains the accent."

"I grew up there… until we moved back when I was 17…" Josie brushed her hair back. "I… I really would like to get to know you."

Justin sighed. "Well, I did always want siblings… Mom and Pop just told me it wasn't possible."

"Well, we have that chance now." Josie took his hand. "Uh, Dad… I think you…"

"I know…" Hank took a deep breath. "Um… I also have started seeing Josie's mom… there's a chemistry there and we're taking it slow… but you should know that I do still love your mother and I'll never forget what we had… but I can't stand being alone at home anymore… I know even when you're out, you're not gonna want to live with me anymore…"

"Pop, just… can I meet everyone?" Justin asked. "Being in here… it sucks… and I…"

"You're not alone… and I'd love for you to meet the kids… and my mom." Josie smiled. She turned to Hank. "Uh, Dad… can… do you think we could maybe get him a day pass or something… for the wedding?"

Hank stroked his chin. "I'm thinking we could… Antonio?"

"I'll put the request in myself." Antonio nodded. "If I ask, it's pretty much a guarantee."

"Uh, thanks… bro." Justin said. He looked to the other chair at the table. "Uh, come… I guess I can't be hating on the guy that my sister's gonna marry."

Antonio nodded and joined them. Justin spent a majority of the time they were there asking questions. Hank was so happy that Justin was being understanding about this. He suspected it was because Josie was a sister for him. That and she was able to explain everything.

The Warden appeared. "Sergeant, I'm sorry to have to cut this visit short, but it's almost lights out."

Hank sighed. "Okay… uh, thank you… this has been a big step for us."

Justin stood up. "Yeah, thanks, Warden… I… I got a sister… and nieces and nephews… I've got a reason to be a better person now."

The Warden smiled. "Good. Uh, I'll escort you back to your cell… you can say good night to your family."

Justin hugged his father and shook Antonio's hand. "Take care of her… at least until I get out… then I can help out."

Antonio laughed. "You got it, kid."

Justin turned to Josie. "It's a shock to know I've got a big sister… but thank you… for coming to see me… I hope I'll see you again soon."

Josie hugged him. "Definitely. That's what family's all about."

Justin followed the Warden out of the visiting area while another guard escorted them back to the main gate where they could retrieve their weapons.

"You want me to go back to the District?" Josie asked.

"Nah." Hank said. "I think, if it's okay with you, I'll crash in the guest room… I'm… I don't want to go home to an empty house."

"It's fine with us." Antonio said. "We're family… may as well act like one."

* * *

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* * *

Three weeks later, Zoë and Dixie had just returned from Paris. Josie and Antonio were waiting at the airport for them, while Xavier stayed home with Eva and Diego. In the three weeks they had moved everything from Antonio's house into Josie's. The house was now being seen by potential renters. Surprisingly, Eva and Diego had adjusted to these new changes quite well. To Antonio's dismay, Hank had been spending a lot of time over to get to know more about Josie and the kids. He was still unsure of how Voight really felt about him marrying Josie, but it didn't matter. Gaby had arranged it that Chaplain Orlovsky would be performing the ceremony. It was lucky for them because he helped get all the paperwork in order for them to have a wedding blessed by the Church. They were having all the food prepared by Zoë, Eva and the family and some of the workers from Molly's would be serving it. Antonio and Josie had tried to convince them of letting a caterer do the work, but the girls wouldn't hear anything of it. They insisted it was part of their wedding gift to them. Josie had convinced Antonio that it was okay and that it meant they were becoming a family. Having those discussions over Skype when Paris was 7 hours ahead of Chicago. Now, they were going to be home and everything was going to be able to fall together. Antonio and Josie had a surprise lined up for Eva's birthday. She was a 4th of July baby and Antonio had explained that her birthday was never celebrated the way she deserved. Once they were home, they'd finalize the rest of the plan.

"Mama!" They heard Zoë's voice come from the arrivals gate. They spun around and saw their daughter racing towards them.

Josie braced herself as Zoë wrapped her arms around her mother. "Ooof! Careful, Zoë… I'm not made of steel." Josie laughed.

"Sorry." Zoë blushed. "I just missed you."

"What about me?" Antonio asked.

"Sorry, Daddy." Zoë hugged him too. "I'm just kinda used to it only being Mama here. I'm glad you came."

"We missed you too." Antonio smiled. "Where's Mimi?"

"I'm here… sadly, I don't run as fast as she does through security." Dixie joined them, winded.

"Welcome home." Josie hugged her mother.

"Thank you, Cherie… my word! You've gotten bigger in three weeks."

"Thanks, Mom." Josie said sarcastically. "I'm just carrying twins again."

"I know… you look good. How are you feeling?" Dixie put her carry-on down.

"Pretty good. We, uh… moved Antonio and the kids over to our house and Dad has been spending a lot of time there."

"Hank is Dad now?" Dixie asked.

"Yeah… and I met his son… my half-brother, Justin."

"Wow… a lot has happened." Dixie smiled. "Well, let's go get that luggage and go home… I'm beat."

Again, Zoë raced ahead to the luggage carousels. Antonio and Josie just grinned as she took off a year's worth of luggage for herself and her grandmother. Antonio quickly helped her load the luggage onto carts and they headed to Josie's new SUV.

"Mama! When did you get this?" Zoë exclaimed.

"Your grandpa gifted it to me and the family… it's more baby friendly than my old car, which is now officially your Mimi's."

"Wow." Zoë hopped in the back seat. "There's a lot of room in here!"

"You won't be saying that once there are two car seats, strollers and diaper bags in there too." Antonio laughed. "Come on, everyone's waiting for you guys to come home."

"Wait, is it safe for you to be driving?" Dixie asked as Josie got behind the wheel.

"Yes, Mama… until I can't fit… I'm driving."

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* * *

 _ **July 4, 2013- Eva's 13**_ _ **th**_ _ **birthday…**_

Josie got up early with Antonio to make sure everything was ready. Eva had gone to a friend's for a sleepover party the night before. All of it had been part of the plan. Everyone that was close to her was in on it. They got together and decorated. Xavier and Zoë, along with Diego, were marinating the different meats as well as hand making the burger patties for the BBQ. Josie, Gaby and Rebecca set about to decorating the yard and the house with balloons, flowers and streamers. The guys set up chairs and tables as well some different yard games that everyone could join in on. Dixie and Lilianna were working on the birthday cake. It was a rich chocolate cake with 3 layers filled with a coconut and walnut cream. There were also a variety of cake pops too. They were going all out on this. Antonio wanted Eva to have the best birthday ever. In the last 7 years, Eva's birthday tended to be overshadowed by the 4th or completely ignored because of Antonio's work. Having Josie in their lives meant that all the kids could have amazing birthday parties. It was close to 2. Eva was due home any minute and everyone had hidden in the back yard.

"I'm home!" Eva called as she walked in the front door.

Antonio greeted her at the front door. "Hey, sweetie!" He hugged her tightly. "How was your sleepover?"

"Really fun… uh… where's everyone?"

"Uh, in the back." Antonio led her passed the rooms that were decorated and covered her eyes. "Okay… one more little step."

"Dad… what the heck?" Eva made her way onto the back deck.

Antonio uncovered her eyes. Everyone shouted 'Happy Birthday' and 'Surprise'.

"OH! Oh my God!" Eva's hands flew to her mouth. "Wow!"

"Happy Birthday, Eva." Antonio hugged her tightly. "Do you like it?"

Eva was speechless. She just nodded. "Thank you."

"Thank you brothers and sister, and Josie too… it was all their ideas. I just… I want you to know how much I love you… how much everyone loves you."

"I know, Daddy. Thank you… I love you, too." She went down and visited with different members of both families as well as her friends who had been invited.

Josie went up to the deck. "Well?"

"She's happy. She deserves this… I… I dropped the ball too much for them over the last 7 years."

"Antonio, you were raising them alone… while being a Vice Detective and doing a lot of UC work… that's not your fault."

"It still wasn't fair to them… you raised Xavier and Zoë on your own…"

"I wasn't always there for birthdays, or Christmases or Easters… I tried but there were no guarantees… Kids… are strong and they know that we're doing the best we can with what we have available."

"Do you ever wonder what it would've been like… if we hadn't been pulled apart?"

"All the time… but Antonio… we wouldn't have all of this… if we had… things happen for a reason… whether it's to test our strength or to show us something… it's meant to be, but we just took a different path to get here."

"Why do you have to be so wise?" He wrapped his arms around her.

"I have no idea… must be a mom thing."

Antonio shook his head. "My mom says that all the time."

"She's probably right."

They went down and mingled with their guests. They watched in awe as the kids laughed and played. They knew that it was the best thing they could've done to help them get used everything that had happened in the last month or so.

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* * *

 _ **August 17, 2013- Wedding Day…**_

Josie was a ball of anxiety. She hadn't been this nervous in a long time. Antonio had spent the night with the boys at Hank's house while Gaby had spent the night over with Josie and the girls. It was time to start getting ready and Josie was dealing with butterflies and very active babies in her belly. She had had her shower already and was waiting for her mother to come and style her hair. She had decided against wearing a tiara or veil. Since it was a small gathering and a less than traditional wedding, she was opting to have her hair curled and having flowers weaved into her hair to make a crown. She had spent the last couple months allowing her normal pixie cut to grow out so she could have flowers weaved into it. The hormones had caused her hair to grow a little faster and made her hair that much curlier and soft. With her choice of dress, she was also opting for a more vintage style. Dixie came into her room carrying a kit full of hair products, flowers and curling irons. She set to work and in no time, Josie's hair was styled and ready. Dixie's hair had been swept into a tight chignon already. Dixie quickly set to work on styling Eva and Zoë's hair. Gaby had done hers already as she was in charge of helping everyone with their make-up and dresses.

Soon, they were all ready and it was time to get into the dresses. Gaby was in a rich violet summer dress while Eva and Zoë were in ivory dresses with purple and pink flowers. Dixie's dress was a deep eggplant purple and had a small silver bolero to go with it. Josie took a deep breath and watched as Gaby unzipped the bag with her dress in it. She had opted for an ivory with rose gold lace, tea-length gown. She had surprisingly been able to get it on rush order to have in time for the wedding. There was a sleeveless, sheer yoke over the sweetheart neckline. It was a very boho styled gown but fit with the theme that was going on today. She stepped into the dress and waited as Dixie did up the old-fashioned buttons that ran down the back. Once the dress was done up, Zoë slid the ivory ballet flats that Josie had opted to wear. Once everything was in place, Josie turned to see her reflection in the mirror.

"Wow!" Eva and Zoë exclaimed.

Dixie stifled back a sob. "Josie, you're so beautiful."

Josie had to take a tissue. "Oh my God."

The two girls hugged her. "Dad's not gonna know what hit him." They said.

"Well, the photographer's waiting… let's uh… let's get this show on the road." Josie said, her voice breaking. She had hoped that this day would come, but for a long time, she had thought it would never happen.

In the last couple months, she had grown closer to her biological father and her half-brother. She had even asked Hank to walk her up the aisle with Dixie. Justin had been granted a one-day pass to come to the wedding under a police escort. Erin Lindsay had volunteered to come and keep an eye on him. Today was a very big deal. Once the formal pictures had been taken, the girls waited for Hank to pick them up. He had driven Antonio and the boys to the chapel already. He pulled up and they had a full police escort to the chapel.

Antonio was pacing in the vestibule. He had been anxious when he had married Laura, but this, this was a whole other level of anxiety.

"Dad, I don't think Chaplain Orlovsky is going to be too happy if you wear a hole in his floor." Diego pointed out. He was fiddling with his tie. "Do I have to wear this thing?"

Antonio couldn't help but laugh. "Uh, yeah… Be happy it's not a bow-tie… or a tux… then we'd all feel like damn penguins."

Xavier adjusted the boutonniere on his lapel. "I'm quite content not being a penguin."

"See, a tie's not so bad." Antonio smiled. "Come on, it's our big day… as a family."

"Yeah, I know." Diego got up and hugged Antonio. "Dad, is… do you think it's too fast for me to call Josie 'Mom'?"

Antonio froze. "Um, I don't… I don't know, buddy… I guess that's up to you to talk to her about it."

"Cool." Diego grinned and went to sit down again.

Xavier asked. "Dad, how much longer before we get started… these outfits are hot."

"I know, son." Antonio was fidgeting with his cufflinks at this point. He was starting to wish that they had just opted for vests, dress shirts and ties. He looked at his watch. "They should be here pretty quick, the ceremony is set to start at 3 and it's a quarter to."

"Can I go see if they're here? The rule says the groom can't see the bride." Diego laughed. "No rules about sons not being allowed to see the bride."

Xavier high-fived his little brother. "He's got a really good point." They both raced out of the vestibule. "Bye, Dad!"

Antonio sighed. "We really should've just eloped."

The doors to the chapel were closed to prevent any sneak peaks at the bride. Xavier knocked on the door. "Mom?"

"Yeah, buddy, we're here. Couldn't be late for my own wedding could I?" Josie's voice was slightly muffled through the door.

"No… uh, everything okay this morning?" He asked again.

"Yes, Xavier. Tell your father we can get into position and get this show on the road."

Diego stayed with his sisters while Xavier went to tell Antonio. Gaby fixed his tie again. "Diego, you look very dashing."

"Dad said we're like penguins." Diego replied. "I feel like a dying, oven-roasted penguin."

"Diego?" Josie's voice came through the door again.

"Yes?"

"Once the ceremony's done and we've a few family pictures, you can lose the penguin suit. Promise."

"Yes!" Diego did a little happy dance just as Chaplain Orlovsky joined them.

"Everyone excited?" He asked.

The kids nodded. "Yep."

"Good, good." The Chaplain went to the doors. "Is the bride ready?"

"Yes, Father." Josie said.

"Alright, let's get a move on."

Antonio took his position at the back of the church with his parents. After Chaplain Orlovsky was at the front of the church, the music began and Antonio and his parents slowly made their way up the aisle. They were followed by Gaby and Tiago. Diego and Eva went next and finally Xavier and Zoë. The music changed to the Canon in 'D' and the doors to the Chapel opened to reveal Josie and her parents. Antonio felt his breath hitch as he saw his bride make her way up the aisle. She looked radiant. She had a small bouquet of orchids and Peruvian lilies in various shades of purple, pink and white. She was glowing as they made their way to the front of the chapel. As Josie passed by their family and friends, there were gasps of awe. Once they were at the front of the chapel, Antonio went to take Josie's hand. He hugged Dixie and Hank's hands.

"Take good care of her." Dixie whispered.

"I will."

"Don't forget, I know where you live, and work… and I've got ways of getting rid of people."

"Oh, I know." Antonio smiled. "I promise."

Hank took Josie hand and put it in Antonio's. He quickly gave Josie a kiss on the cheek and escorted Dixie to their seats.

Antonio and Josie took the last few steps to the altar. Josie handed Gaby her bouquet.

"Please, be seated." Chaplain Orlovsky said. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the joining of Josie and Antonio in Holy Matrimony. Today, they join their families as one… a dream that they've shared for almost 16 years." He smiled. "We're here to celebrate with them. Antonio and Josie, have you come here freely and without reservation to give yourselves to each other in marriage?"

"I do." They said in unison.

"Will you honour and love each other for the rest of your lives?"

Again, they replied. "I do."

"This part may seem a little redundant at this point… but, I still have to ask. Will you accept children lovingly from God and bring them up according to the law of Christ and his Church."

Everyone laughed as Antonio and Josie answered. "I do."

"Okay, then… may I have the rings please."

Xavier and Diego stepped forward and handed Chaplain Orlovsky the rings. He blessed them and asked Josie and Antonio to grasp right hands. "Antonio, repeat after me: I, Antonio, take you, Josie, to be my wife."

"I, Antonio, take you, Josie, to be my wife." Antonio said.

"I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for better, for worse, for richer or for poorer…"

"I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for better, for worse, for richer or for poorer…" Antonio felt the butterflies in his stomach.

"I will love you, and honour you all the days of my life."

Antonio grinned. "I will love you, and honour you all the days of my life."

Josie blushed.

Chaplain Orlovsky turned to Josie. "Your turn. I, Josie, take you, Antonio to be my husband."

"I, Josie, take you, Antonio to be my husband."

"I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for better, for worse, for richer or for poorer…"

"I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, for better, for worse, for richer or for poorer…" Josie's breath hitched as she got closer to the end. She knew the last part off by heart. "I will love you, and honour you all the days of my life."

Chaplain Orlovsky snickered. "Well, I guess that's that. Antonio, take this ring, and place it on Josie's left hand and say: 'Josie, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit."

Antonio took the engagement ring and wedding band that he had had soldered together so they wouldn't wear out over time. "Josie, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." He slid it onto Josie's finger and kissed her hand.

Josie took the wedding band she had picked out for Antonio. It was a simple white gold band that had seemed to have been hammered, giving it a unique texture and appearance. "I think I've got this, Chaplain."

"By all means." Chaplain Orlovsky smiled.

The guest burst into laughter.

"Antonio, take this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." She slid the ring on his finger.

"Well, without any further ado, it is my pleasure to bless this marriage." He made the sign of the cross. "By the great state of Illinois, the city of Chicago and by God's grace, I am happy to say… you are man and wife. A round of applause for Mr. and Mrs. Antonio and Josie Dawson. You may kiss the bride."

Cheers erupted as Antonio swept Josie into his arms and kissed her deeply. The small chapel seemed to shake with the cheers and applause. Dixie wiped away a tear from her eye. Her baby was all grown up, and there was no way she could deny it anymore.

Hank wrapped his arm around her. "She's going to be okay."

"I know, Hank… it's… I never thought she'd get this chance. They've always been destined to be together."

"They are now. In the eyes of God and the State… nothing's gonna come between them, or their family." He kissed the top of her head.

Antonio, Josie, Gaby and Tiago quickly signed the register. The kids joined them at the front of the altar for a few pictures and they quickly headed outside where they got into their vehicles and headed to the pier for some formal pictures. Their families met them there and then it was time to head to the small community centre that they had rented for the reception.

After the meal, there were the speeches and the kids had gotten together to prepare a special speech for their parents. After Gaby, Tiago, and the parents had done their speeches, the kids got up and went to the mic.

Xavier tapped on the mic. "Excuse us… but we've got one last speech here… before Mom and Dad come up and give theirs… um… First off, we'd like to introduce ourselves. We are Xavier, Zoë, Eva and Diego Dawson…" He pointed to them as he said their names. "Zoë and I are 15 years old and we haven't really had Dad in our lives until now… and by some random chance, we've got this chance to be a family again."

Zoë took the mic. "We've known about Dad and his family all these years and we couldn't be happier to now be a family together with Eva and Diego. We've gotten a chance to see what happens when you don't give up on your hopes and dreams. Mom and Dad, you guys are the best example of determination and hard work… and we are blessed to be your children. Thank you for showing us what true love is."

Eva and Diego stood next to each other as Zoë handed them the mic. "Diego and I have been talking about what we would say today. We were surprised… to know that we had an older brother and sister… we were even more surprised to see how accepting and loving they've been to us… and Josie… in the couple months that we've been able to get to know you and see how much happier Dad has been in the last 7 years. You've brought us together as a family, and we are so happy to be a part of it. Thank you, Josie…" She looked to her brother.

He took the mic. "We just want to say… that you're not just our step-mom now… we couldn't be happier to call you 'Mom'."

Josie looked to Antonio then back to their children with tears in her eyes. She got up from the table and ran to them. She pulled all of them into a tight hug. "I love you, guys. All of you. I'm so proud to be your mom." She kissed them all on the cheek. "Thank you… thank you so much."

"We love you too." They said.

The speeches were soon concluded and it was time to open up the dance floor. Josie had asked their DJ to make a medley of both the Spanish and English versions of Marc Anthony's 'I Need You'. Antonio and Josie took the dance floor as the music began to play. It wasn't a super slow song, but just slow enough for them to get lost in the moment. Josie then danced with Hank to a slower country song, 'My Daughter's Father', while Antonio danced to a Pop Latin version of 'Over the Rainbow'. Finally, the whole bridal party joined in on the dance floor to 'God Gave Me You'. After the formal dances were done, the DJ cranked up the dance music and the party really started.

Josie was feel like a million bucks. She was sitting with some of the nurses she had worked with while she'd been at Med when Justin and Erin approached the table.

"Hey, sis." Justin hugged her. "You look great."

"Thanks." Josie nodded to her nursing friends as they headed to the dance floor. "Having a good time?"

"Anything is better than being in Statesville." He answered. "But, this is amazing. You guys look awesome together."

"We're really glad you could come." Josie took his hand. "Did you have a good time with the kids?"

"They talk really fast." He laughed. "I had to get them to repeat a couple things."

"They're excited about all this." Josie said. "Think that we'll be able to make it as a family?"

"I really want to." He smiled. "This is definitely a reason to keep my nose clean. Heck, I've never seen Pop smile this much in a long ass time."

"Well, everyone deserves to be happy at some point." Erin said. "Uh, I hate to cut this short, but…"

"I know." Justin hung his head. "Thank you, Josie for having me… it means a lot."

Josie got up and hugged him. "Always. Um, once you're out… we'll do a big family meal… okay?"

"Thanks."

Erin led him through the guests to say good night to his nieces and nephews as well as his father. They headed back to Statesville. Josie felt bad for her brother, but she also knew why he was there. He had to learn the hard way, but it seemed like it was actually working.

The evening was winding down and Josie was starting to feel the weight of the day. She sat back and watched as the kids were dancing the night away with their cousins. Antonio came up to her carrying a water bottle.

"What's that for?" Josie took it. "Damn! It's a block of ice!"

Antonio laughed. "Gaby froze a bunch of them for you… it's for your feet and ankles."

"My sister is a saviour!" She took the bottle and kicked off her shoes. She gently rolled her foot over it. "Oh, that feels so good."

"Glad to hear it, Mrs. Dawson." He kissed her neck.

"Mmm… I like that."

"Good." He kissed her lips. "It's almost 2… wanna call it a night? I have the honeymoon suite all booked and ready for us."

"What 'bout the kids?" Josie asked.

"Between both of our parents, they'll be fine." He helped her up. "Let's go and celebrate our wedding night."

Josie giggled. "Okay, Detective. Lead the way."

He helped her get her shoes back on and they made their way through the guests to thank them for coming and to say good night. They made the kids promise to behave for their grandparents until Monday morning when Antonio and Josie would be back from their little hotel get away. They had an actual honeymoon planned, but it would be for after the babies were born and old enough to be left with family for at least a week.

They arrived at the Waldorf Astoria Chicago in short time. It helped that it was 2 am. They arrived at the desk and checked in. The concierge escorted them to the honeymoon suite. Josie was shocked. She knew that this was probably the priciest hotel in Chicago. It was very classy and chic. She just held onto Antonio's hand as they made their way to the elevator.

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Dawson." He said as he opened the door to their suite. "Please enjoy your stay and if you need anything, please call us. The fruit basket and bottle of sparkling fruit juice are our gift to you."

Antonio handed him a tip and the concierge nodded and left. Antonio closed and locked the door. "I finally get you all to myself." He walked over and swept her into his arms. "You look beautiful; did I tell you that today?"

"Maybe." Josie batted her eyes at him. "You look very dashing, Detective."

"Oh, Jo… that still drives me wild… the way you say that." He kissed her deeply. She sucked on his bottom lip. He could feel the blood course through his veins and rush to his groin. His hands slid along her back. "Buttons? Really?"

"I wasn't going to make it that easy…" She smiled slyly.

Antonio made quick work of the buttons and slid the dress off. He was a little surprised to see no bra, but that was fine with him. Josie's hands made their way to his shirt buttons. She undid them and while he pulled his shirt and tie off, she unbuckled his belt and undid his pants. She slid everything down as she knelt in front of him. She gently took him in her hand and stroked him. She then took him in her mouth, alternating between sucking and licking the tip and shaft. Antonio had to brace himself against the bed as Josie took him by surprise. He moaned as she pulled him deeper into her mouth. The warmth was welcoming and caused him to almost throb with pleasure. He knew if he didn't stop her, he'd finish before he got any chance with her. He pulled back and pulled Josie up. He grabbed her and fell back onto the bed, pulling her with him. Josie knew that he wanted to see her. She positioned herself over him and gently slid onto him. Antonio almost lost it as her warm heat wrapped tightly around him. He held onto her hips as she began to move with him. Soon they were in an intimate dance. Antonio held on tightly as Josie picked up the pace. He could feel her tighten around him. He knew she was close. He thrust up and lost control as Josie's orgasm rocked her. They both froze, bodies shuddering in ecstasy and breathing ragged. As Antonio regained control of his mind, he gently helped Josie roll off him and pulled her into his embrace.

This was it. Their dream of a family together had finally come true. It was always meant to be and now it was.

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 _ **A/N: Well, there we go… More to come soon. I dedicate this chapter to my wonderful husband. Happy 3**_ _ **rd**_ _ **Anniversary, my love. Yes, today, August 17 is our wedding anniversary. You are always my Antonio. An update to the Rose should be expected by mid-next week. Love Always, Nicole**_


	10. You'll Be In My Heart

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 _ **September…**_

School had just started again. Eva was in her last year of Junior High and for the first time, she was excited to go to school. She had been transferred to a school closer to home and she was ready to make new friends and start fresh. She had also had more time to adjust to having a step-mom. She actually liked Josie. Josie didn't try to replace her Mom. Having a step-mom wasn't anything like what the kids at her other school had said. Josie took time to get to know her. Josie actually treated her like she was her own. Diego had no problems adjusting. He moved to a school closer to home too. Xavier and Zoë walked them to their buses every day before heading to Holy Trinity. Once school was out, Xavier and Zoë would go and meet Diego and Eva and walk them home. Their family was starting to make everything work.

Josie wasn't working a desk in Intelligence anymore. She was officially on Maternity Leave. She spent her days working on getting the new nursery ready and catching up on some of the books she'd meant to finish reading. Antonio was still working out kinks in Intelligence. Having his father-in-law as his boss was a huge adjustment. It was even a bigger adjustment to see Hank and Dixie trying to make their own relationship work.

It was the weekend and Antonio was enjoying one his rare days off. He had actually been able to sleep in and hold his wife. He woke up a little while after 9 and just stared at Josie as she slept in his arms. She was radiant. She'd gotten quite a bit bigger over the last few weeks. He put his hand on her belly and smiled as he felt the twins move against his hand.

"Mmm." Josie groaned. "Antonio?" Her eyes fluttered open slowly. "Hey."

"Hi, beautiful." He kissed her. "How'd you sleep?"

"With my eyes closed." She giggled.

"Oh boy… you've been talking to my brother too much again." Antonio laughed. "That was always his answer when Mami asked him that question."

"Oh, well… it's also the answer your two sons give me when I'm asking them that same question each morning before school."

"Well… maybe it's a genetic response." Antonio smirked. "I love watching you sleep."

"That sounds eerily like stalking, Detective." Josie batted her eyes at him.

"I don't think I can stalk my wife." He kissed her again. "Seriously… How was your sleep?"

"Good." She smiled. "They didn't keep me up too much. They're active this morning though."

"Probably my fault." He said quietly. "Sorry. I just love… love this feeling."

"It is pretty spectacular… especially considering that there's two of them in there… I'm pretty sure they think my bladder is a punching bag."

Antonio rolled her over onto her back and talked to the twins. "You boys are taking after Daddy, aren't you?"

"What if it's girls?" Josie arched an eyebrow. "It could be… or the doctor could've been wrong and there could be one of each."

"Well, if you'd let the doctor tell us the gender…"

"Not this again." Josie smacked his chest playfully. "I wanted a surprise with Xavier and Zoë… I got that, and I want that again."

"Okay… okay… I won't push it…" He stopped. "I smell breakfast."

"The girls really like cooking together. Eva told me that she's working towards getting into the special culinary program at Holy Trinity like Zoë."

"I won't stop her. I'm just so happy to see her out of her shell. She's a very bright girl, but without someone else other than me… I don't think she was reaching her fullest potential." Antonio sighed.

"Antonio, you did great… and they're adjusting… they call me Mom all the time now… and Eva's excited to have the babies be here soon."

"Are you sure you'll make it to nine months?" Antonio rubbed her belly.

"I did with the other set."

"That was 15 years ago." Antonio reminded her. "You're older now."

"So are you." She laughed. "I'm doing everything that my doctors have told me to do. I'm not going to do anything to risk having these babies any sooner than October."

"Good." Antonio got off the bed. "Okay, let's get you up and we'll go feed you and the babies."

"You're hungry." Josie snickered. "I can hear your stomach growling."

"Fine, I'm hungry too. Let's go… I suspect your dad is over again."

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"Zoë, is the culinary program at Holy Trin hard?" Eva asked as she flipped the pancakes.

"Not if your pay attention in the lectures and do the skill work. It's a lot of work… I won't lie… it's a lot of work, but it's totally worth it in the end." Zoë grinned. "If you want to, I can help you work on stuff before you get there…"

"I'd love that." Eva exclaimed.

"Well, I guess it's just gonna be us boys today." Diego told Xavier.

"You don't want to learn to cook?" Zoë asked.

"Will you play baseball with us if I do?"

"I used to play with Xavier all the time when we were younger…"

"She can throw a mean curveball." Xavier added.

"That she can." Josie said, appearing in the doorway with Antonio. "She almost busted Xavier's hand a couple times and shattered my windshield."

Antonio stared at his older daughter. "And you chose food over ball?"

"She's my daughter too." Josie snickered. "What's for breakfast?"

"Pancakes, fresh fruit, yogurt and turkey bacon." Eva grinned.

"Turkey!?" Antonio exclaimed. "What happened to real bacon?"

"It's not good for Mom or the babies." Eva said. "Have to keep them healthy."

"What about me?"

"You need to stay healthy too." Zoë smirked. "Is Mimi here?"

Xavier shrugged. "Dunno."

"I can go check!" Diego eagerly volunteered.

"Uh, no… buddy… I'll go." Antonio headed towards the door for the basement suite. "Finish helping set the table… and if we all get through this breakfast unscathed… I have a surprise for everyone."

"Mom?" Zoë asked. Since Eva and Diego had moved in, she and Xavier had gone from calling her 'Mama' to calling her 'Mom'.

"Yes, dear?"

"Why does Daddy hate Grandpa so much?"

Josie sat down and sighed. "You want the long or short version?"

"I know!" Diego was jumping up and down.

"Diego, shh." Eva chastised her little brother.

Josie shook her head. "It's okay. Uh… I just got the story myself."

"Maybe I can tell the story." Hank's gruff voice made everyone jump. "Sorry. Antonio said breakfast was ready."

Josie got up. "It's okay, Dad… It is ready… you guys don't have to talk about it."

"No, Josie… I think it's fair… the kids have a right to know." Hank said.

Antonio took his seat and Josie sat next to him. "I don't hate Grandpa… but we haven't always seen eye to eye."

"It's okay… look… kids… before your Dad and I worked together in Intelligence… We didn't necessarily do things the same way. I was a, what we'd call, an old school cop… your dad is a by the book, don't break the rules kinda cop. There's nothing wrong with that, but we tend to butt heads on philosophy. I did some pretty stupid things trying to defend your Uncle Justin. Your dad caught me, and well… he arrested me."

"Dad!" Xavier and Zoë exclaimed.

"Don't… don't get mad at him." Hank said. "He did what was right. I shouldn't have gone as far as I did. Your Uncle Justin needed to hit bottom to smarten up. I should've just let him… your dad helped me see that… even though I wasn't exactly thrilled about his methods."

"So, Dad… why don't you exactly… like… Grandpa?" Zoë asked again.

"Uh…" Antonio ran his hand through his hair. "I think it mostly has to do with I didn't trust him… now… well, just put it this way… it's weird having my father-in-law as my boss."

"Oh."

"Don't worry… we get along just fine." Hank smiled. "Let's eat."

"Good plan." Dixie said coming upstairs. She sat next to Hank. "Um, Jo… after breakfast… can we talk?"

"Sure, Mama." Josie said, serving herself some of the fresh fruit over her pancakes.

After breakfast, Antonio cleaned up the dishes while the kids went to get ready for their day out. Hank and Dixie went with Josie to the living room.

"So, what's going on?" Josie propped her feet up on the ottoman.

"Uh, well… your father and I have something we'd like to talk to you about."

"Okay… Mama… you're freaking me out a little bit." Josie replied. "It's not usually a good thing when we have this kinds of chats."

"I know, Cherie… but… Hank and I have been talking the last few days and… well…" Dixie turned to Hank.

"What your mother is trying to say is that I've asked her to move in with me… into my house."

"Wow!" Josie exclaimed. "Wow."

"I know it's soon… and we're just trying to get our family unit figured out." Dixie stammered.

"Mama, it's okay." Josie smiled. "Really. Um, when are you guys thinking of doing this?"

"This weekend… slowly… I won't move out completely… so abruptly." Dixie said. "I just think it's for the best… you know with the babies coming and everything..."

"Mama, you are allowed to have a life… you've sacrificed so much for us already… it's time you live your own life."

"So, you're not mad?"

"Why on Earth would I be mad? You guys are adults… I can't dictate your lives any more than you can dictate mine." Josie laughed. "I'll be fine. I swear."

Hank squeezed Dixie's hand. "I told you. You worry too much."

"Well, it's only been the two of us for 15 years… I guess… maybe I'm worried about leaving you on your own."

"Mom, I've got 4 kids upstairs and two more on the way… I'll be fine. Plus, it's not like you're moving across the country… it's just to another part of the city."

"I sometimes try to figure out when you got so wise." Dixie got up to hug Josie. "I'll come whenever you need me."

"I know." Josie hugged her tightly. "It's going to be fine, Mama… you and Dad deserve this… you know it."

Dixie smiled. "Fair enough. I think that Antonio may be a little happier if we're not always popping in and out."

"Antonio is just going to have to accept that Dad's the boss in Intelligence and put the past where it belongs. The past." Josie laughed. "He has some surprise planned for today, so I'm going to go get ready. We'll see you guys at Sunday dinner?"

"Definitely." Hank hugged her. "Have fun."

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 _ **October…**_

Josie felt like a balloon penguin everywhere she went. The twins were healthy and growing like crazy. She had amazed her doctors because she hadn't gone into pre-term labour as most women having twins do. She was due any now. She was flipping through a baby name book when Antonio came home.

"Hey, Jo." He put his coat in the closet. "How you feeling?"

"Like a blimp." Josie put the book on the coffee table. "How was work?"

"Well, we busted another dealer in that heroin ring… nothing more than that though."

"You'll get there, baby." She patted the couch next to her. "Come sit. We really need to work on the name thing."

Antonio sat on the couch next to her and pulled her into his arms. "How can we pick names if we don't know what we're having?"

"It's not like we're having a goat, Antonio. It's a baby… well two babies."

"But how can we choose names if we don't know if it's boys or girls?"

"Simple… we pick two of each… then we go from there."

"Okay… so what names do you have picked already?" He took the book off the coffee stand. He noticed the large amount of sticky tabs on the edges of the book. "All of these are ideas?"

"I figured start with a big list and whittle it down." Josie grinned. "I had kind of picked out the names for Xavier and Zoë right after the New Year… We're cutting it close this time around."

"Sweetie… we have time…"

"What day is it?"

"October 13." Antonio answered.

"Your birthday's tomorrow."

"So what?"

"So, I have a very strong suspicion that these two will be making their arrival by then."

"You can't be certain." Antonio thumbed through the book. "There are way too many choices here… help me out, Jo."

Josie took the book from him and flipped to the cultural section. "I'm thinking ethnic."

"Like Diego and Xavier aren't ethnic enough?"

"Haha." Josie shook her head. "Come on… think about it… I'm Cajun with Irish roots too… you're Dominican."

"Okay… I get it… what are you thinking?"

"I love Grace and Kierra for girls."

"Those are both beautiful names." Antonio said. "What about boy names?"

"I adore Rafael… I haven't got a second boy name though… there are so many to choose from."

"Okay, how do you feel about Enrique?"

"Like Iglesias?" Josie arched an eyebrow.

"Yeah… it's a strong name."

"Enrique Dawson… sounds nice." Josie smiled. "So… are those our names?"

"Yeah… they work." Antonio took the book from Josie and put it back on the coffee table. "Now, what do you guys feel like for sup… wait… where are the kids?"

"Xavier and Diego are at the baseball diamond and Zoë and Eva are next door helping Abuela make some sweet treats for when they'll be on their own."

"So, pizza?"

Josie snickered. "Yep. Order it now, and I'll text the kids to head back home."

After supper, Josie went to soak her feet in the tub. This pregnancy was harder in the sense that she had swollen feet and ankles all the time. While the kids cleaned the table, Antonio went to check on Josie.

"Hey, babe… you okay?"

Josie nodded. "The babies are going to be here soon… I have a lot of pressure in my lower back and… ooo…"

"You okay?"

Josie nodded again. "Yeah… just twins moving around… it's not exactly the most comfortable thing in the world."

"Here, let's get you to bed then." Antonio helped her dry her feet and get ready for bed.

"You don't have to pamper me." Josie protested.

"Yes, I do… I didn't get to do that 15 years ago… I'm not always home as it is… please… let me spoil you."

Josie heaved a sigh. "Okay… fine." She wrapped her arms around his neck and let him carry her to the bed. "Not sure how you can still lift me at this point."

"I train every day… I've been boxing since I was about 14… I took it up after I had had enough of the beatings I got from some banger I used to run dime bags for."

"You never told me that." Josie snuggled up closely to him.

Antonio stroked her shoulder. "I didn't?"

"Nope."

"Yeah, I wanted to prove I was tough… tried to be part of the SGD…"

"You tried to be a part of the Spanish Gangster's Disciples? Antonio…"

"It's fine, babe… I haven't had that in my life for years… and I will be damned if our kids even think about that as a lifestyle."

"Well, I don't think they'll have a chance… between cops and firefighters and paramedics… not to mention teachers, being their family… they won't even think about it." Antonio kissed the tip of her nose. "Get some rest." He reached behind him and turned off the light.

Around 3 in the morning, Josie bolted up in bed. "Ow!"

Antonio bolted up. "Jo! What's wrong?"

"Something's not right… nope… not right at all…" Josie's hand was on her belly. "We… we… need… we need to get to Lakeshore or Med… ASAP."

Antonio didn't hesitate. He threw the blankets to the floor and carried Josie out of the bed to the living room. He put her on the couch. "I'll be right back… just breathe."

Josie nodded and not only was she breathing, she was praying.

Antonio ran and grabbed a t-shirt. He then went to Xavier's room. He needed to tell one of the kids what was going on. He knocked on the door fairly loudly. "Xavier!"

It took a couple seconds, but Antonio could hear movement. "Dad?" Xavier opened the door, rubbing his eyes. "What's going on?"

"Something's wrong with the baby." Antonio rambled. "I'm taking your mom to the hospital… you watch your brother and sisters. You're in charge." He took off back to the living room.

Xavier was in shock. He ran after his father. "Wait! Dad!" He stopped cold when he saw his mother almost doubled over in pain. "Oh shit!"

"Antonio!" Josie was sobbing. "Call… 911." She groaned.

Antonio looked around for his cell but couldn't see it. Xavier reacted. He grabbed the landline and dialed 9-1-1. "Hello? Please send an ambulance… my mom's pregnant and something's wrong with the baby."

The operator confirmed their address and told him that medics were on the way. He asked to speak to his mom or dad. Xavier passed the phone to Antonio.

"Yes?"

"Hello sir, I understand your wife may be in labour… we need to keep her calm… medics are on the way."

Antonio suddenly realized that he was forgetting all his police training. They were taught what to do in emergencies like this. "Uh, I'm a detective in CPD… just… tell me what I have to do." Antonio cradled the phone against his ear using his shoulder.

"Okay, first… how far along is your wife?"

"Uh, Josie's due any day now… but she said this isn't normal… that something's wrong."

"How many children do you have?"

"Josie had twins 15 years ago… and she's having twins again."

Antonio could hear the operator relaying that information to the incoming paramedics. "Okay, has she had any complications up until now?"

"No, she's had a normal, healthy pregnancy." Antonio was terrified. "What do…" Josie's scream made Antonio drop the phone. "Jo, what's wrong?"

"The baby… it's coming! Like…AHHHHH! Now!" Josie's screams woke up the other kids who came running. "My… water just broke!"

"Mom!" Zoë exclaimed. She came to a stop next to Xavier. "What on…"

"Mom's having the babies… like now!" Xavier was freaking out.

"Detective?" The operator's voice came over the phone. "Are you still there?"

Zoë grabbed the phone. "Hi… uh… my dad dropped the phone… my mom… she says the babies are coming…"

"Okay, I need to talk to your dad… and I recommend that you or someone else goes to get some clean towels."

Zoë handed the phone back to Antonio who was trying desperately to keep Josie calm. She grabbed Xavier's hand and said. "We have to get towels. Uh, Eva, Diego… call Tia Gaby… and Mimi."

Eva nodded and went to the office and unplugged her cell from the charger. She dialed Gaby's number first. Calling Josie's mom and Sergeant Voight was a scary thought. Diego just paced. He was worried about Josie and the babies.

Back in the living room, Antonio was following the operator's instructions to check on Josie and the babies. "Look, buddy, her contractions are like one after another and… she says she feels like she has to push."

"When did this all start?" The operator asked.

"Shortly after 3…" Antonio looked to the grandfather in the corner of the room. "Where's the paramedics? It's been almost 20 minutes since you dispatched them."

"They're on their way. They're caught in a traffic jam." The operator was doing his best to keep Antonio calm. "Look, I need to see if the baby is crowning."

Antonio groaned. "Okay… hang on, I'll put you on speaker." Antonio put the phone on speaker and put it on the coffee table. "Jo, sweetie, I need to see if one of the babies is coming… okay…"

Josie nodded, trying to focusing on her breathing. She remembered her Lamaze but it didn't seem to do much at this point. She lifted her legs and allowed Antonio to look to see if the baby was coming.

"Shit." Antonio muttered. "Okay, babe… I see one of them… baby's head is coming… we can't wait on the medics."

Josie collapsed against the pillows of the couch. "Oh no! Not here… not… nope… I'll hold baby in."

"Ma'am." The operator's voice came over the speaker. "You can't do that. It's not good for you or the baby. I'll talk you through the rest, Detective."

"I am not delivering my child in the living room!" Josie screeched. "I want a doctor and meds!"

"Ma'am." The operator was trying to maintain his own cool over Josie's hysterics. "You can't stop Mother Nature… please… just, let your husband help you."

"Mom! Please!" Xavier and Zoë pleaded when they returned with the piles of towels.

"Okay, you kids go keep Diego and Eva busy… just… stay out of here." Antonio said.

The kids nodded and took off to find their younger siblings.

Antonio put his attention back onto Josie. "Okay, what now? The baby's head is coming…"

"Okay, Josie… I need you to take a deep breath and bear down… okay… a nice big push."

Josie took a breath and let her body take control. She pushed as hard as she could. She was also wishing she had an epidural right about now. "It hurts!"

"I know, baby… You're doing great." Antonio encouraged her. "Okay, on the next one, push again."

Josie nodded and pushed hard. She screamed as she could feel the head.

"Okay, stop! The head's out… just… what next?" Antonio was almost screaming at his phone.

"Okay, wipe away whatever is covering baby's mouth and nose… then, gently ease the shoulders out and the baby will almost finish sliding out on its own."

Antonio did as he was instructed and about a minute later, his newest daughter was screaming in his arms. "It's a girl… babe, we have another little girl."

Josie, forgetting everything that was going on, reached for her daughter.

"Okay, Detective, you need to tie off the cord in two places and cut between them."

Antonio was just finishing wrapping their daughter when the paramedics burst through the door. Antonio gawked at his sister and her partner, Leslie Shay. "Took you two long enough! I just delivered my own daughter in the living room…"

Gaby ran and almost pushed her brother aside to check on Josie and the baby. "Okay, drunken morons caused a riot and a crash… had to find a way around it. Jo, how you doing?"

"She's perfect." Josie was stroking her daughter's cheek. "I never want to deliver a baby in my living room again."

"Got it."

"I'll be signing off now." The operator said. "Congrats you two on the newest member of your family."

"Thank you." Antonio said before ending the call. "Can we move her now? Please?"

"Yeah." Gaby took the baby from Josie's arms. "Okay, let Antonio carry her, and we'll get you on the stretcher."

Josie nodded and did what she was told. "Kids!?"

"Is it safe to come out now?" Xavier asked.

"Yeah, come meet your little sister really quick, before baby #2 decides they want to be born in the hallway." Antonio called back.

There was a thunder of running feet as the kids stampeded into the living room.

"Careful!" Shay said. "She's literally a newborn."

Gaby placed the baby in Josie's arms again and helped Shay strap Josie to the stretcher.

"Come meet Grace Gabriela Dawson." Josie looked to Antonio, who nodded.

The kids peaked over the towels. "Awe!" The girls exclaimed.

The boys on the other hand weren't so in awe of their baby sister. "Uh, she's all wrinkly and covered in gunk." Diego said honestly.

Antonio just shook his head. "Okay, well, once one of your grandparents gets here, and they can drive you to the hospital, you can see her all cleaned up. For now, we've gotta move."

The kids backed away from the stretcher to let Gaby and Shay get Josie to the ambulance. Antonio grabbed his jacket. He was running out the door when he crashed into his father. "Papi!"

"Hey, Antonio… what's all the commotion about?" Miguel asked.

"Uh, Josie just had one of the babies in our living room… I delivered my daughter, Papi."

"Dios mio!" Miguel exclaimed. "Are they okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. I'm… uh, I gotta go… can you bring the kids by Med after a while?"

"Si, hijo. Go… Go." Miguel waved his son on and he went into the house to check on the other children.

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* * *

"Alec, come on… we've known each other a long time… why isn't she progressing more?" Antonio was pacing. Josie was in a room being examined by her OB and Antonio had been kicked out of the room.

"Any number of reasons, Antonio… you can't start freaking out." Alec Wilhite was trying to keep his wife's partner from busting down a door. "Twin deliveries are nothing like what they show on TV. From what I saw in her file, your other set of twins were delivered almost an hour apart."

"Alec, it's been two hours… no progress…"

"Okay, I'll make you a deal." Alec offered. "You go and check on baby Grace, and I will try and get information about Josie and Twin #2, okay?"

Antonio nodded. "Okay… okay." He ran his hand through his hair and headed off to the nursery to check on Grace.

Alec waited 5 minutes before going in to Josie's room to ask how things were going. While waiting, he texted Jules, asking her to come in and try and keep Antonio from losing it. He put his phone away and knocked on the door. "Can I come in?"

"Sure, Dr. Wilhite. We're all done here for now." Dr. Jana Camdon said.

Alec stepped into the room. "Hey, how are things going?"

Dr. Camdon sighed. "Well, Josie is back down to 4 centimeters and the contractions have slowed down quite significantly. We're keeping an eye on it, we may have to restart the labour. Considering she delivered Grace in her living room with only her husband being there and talked through this by a 9-1-1 operator over speaker phone, she's doing great. We'll keep her on antibiotics just to be safe."

"Good, good. I sent Antonio to check on Grace… he was driving the nurses at the desk batty because you two kicked him out of here."

Jana laughed. "He'll be fine. I'll let the Nursery know that he can bring Grace here. It'll be good for Mommy to hold her." She patted Josie on the shoulder. "Buzz me if you need anything, okay? You're doing great."

Alec went next to the bed. "I texted Jules, asking her to come keep Antonio from killing people… he's anxious… I don't remember him being this anxious before."

"I think it's because I haven't been through this in 15 years. He's worried about my age and everything… he's scared of becoming a dad again at his age."

"Well, you two are doing great." He squeezed her shoulder. "If you need anything, hit the call button… okay… nothing is too small."

"I'd love something to drink… other than ice chips."

Alec snickered. "I'll see if I can find something. Sit tight."

Josie pointed to the monitors that were hooked up to her belly. "Can't really go anywhere…"

Alec laughed as he went to get Josie something to drink.

Antonio came into the room about 10 minutes after Alec had given her some diluted apple juice. "Hey, Mommy… look who's here."

Josie smiled. "Is she okay?"

Antonio nodded. "She's got 10 perfect, little fingers and 10 perfect, little toes. She wants to see you." He placed the tiny pink bundle into Josie's arms.

Josie heaved a sigh of relief seeing their daughter. She hadn't felt this sensation in 15 years, but it was still as amazing now as it was then. "Hi, Grace… hi."

Grace cooed in her arms, her tiny hands over her face.

"What did the docs say?" Antonio sat on the edge of the bed.

"That this is normal… They said the same thing when Xavier and Zoë are born."

"Then, we don't have anything to worry about." Antonio grinned as he watched Josie undo her gown to feed the now whimpering Grace. "She's hungry already?"

"Generally they are." Josie whispered. "Here, Grace." She put Grace to her and sighed as the baby latched on and began to nurse. "I'm still not convinced."

"About what?"

"That this is all normal. I know that the docs know their stuff, but… something isn't right… I haven't felt much movement since we got here."

"They did give you an epidural." Antonio reminded her.

"No, Antonio… I had one of those before… still." Josie's voice was a little shaky. "Something isn't right."

Antonio sighed. "I'll go get Alec, okay?"

Josie nodded. She put all her attention onto Grace who was still nursing like she'd been starved in the womb.

Antonio returned and told Josie that they'd be coming to do an ultrasound right away. "How are you feeling otherwise?" He asked.

"I'm okay… I just… I really want everything to be okay."

"It will be." Antonio went to her side and kissed her cheek. "How's she doing?"

"She was hungry, but she's good now." Josie smiled. "Here, you can hold her… she needs to have bonding time with Daddy too."

Antonio gently lifted graced from Josie's arms and gently rocked her. "Think you can try and get some rest? You've been at this for almost 5 hours now."

"It's 8 am already?" Josie rubbed her eyes.

"Yep."

"Well, then I guess I can try my best but, who knows." Josie yawned. "Oh, by the way… Happy Birthday, Antonio."

Antonio stopped. "Wait… what?"

"It's your birthday… and Grace will get to share it with you." She whispered as she closed her eyes.

Antonio looked down at the newest addition of their family. "Hmm… I guess Mommy's right… and she was right that you'd be born today… Happy Birthday, Grace." He was rocking Grace when Alec and Jana appeared with the portable ultrasound. "Hey, she just fell asleep." He told them.

"Well, she may or may not wake up, but we'll try our best to not wake her." Jana said. "How's Grace doing?"

"Josie fed her… she's just dozing off now." Antonio answered.

"Good." Jana lifted Josie's gown and started the ultrasound.

Josie's eyes fluttered. "Huh? What's going on?"

"Hey, no worries. Don't freak out." Jana reassured her. "Just doing the ultrasound."

Josie tried to look at the monitor. "And?"

"Baby number two hasn't dropped yet… but it's healthy… do you want to make sure it's another girl?"

"I'll wait… thanks." Josie smiled.

"Wait… I thought we were having identical twins?" Antonio asked. He didn't want to move because he was scared of waking Grace.

"We thought so," Jana said. "This ultrasound tells me otherwise… baby #2 has its own amniotic sac… this happens in fraternal twins, not identical."

"But it could be another girl?"

"Yes, Antonio… that's exactly what it means." Josie smirked. "You worried about girls outnumbering you at the house?"

"Well… I…" Antonio looked to Alec for help.

"Hey, leave me out of it." Alec said.

"Good plan." Jules voice came from the door. "Hey Jo, Antonio… heard you two had one heck of an early morning adventure."

Josie glared at her. "Don't make me laugh… it hurts to laugh right now."

"Come meet the product of that adventure." Antonio waved his partner over. "Jules, meet Grace Gabriela Dawson."

"Oh my God… She's precious!" Jules exclaimed. "Look at the pouty little face."

"She gets that from her daddy." Josie smirked.

"Oh, really now?" Antonio arched an eyebrow.

"And, we'll be leaving you guys to deal with this… we'll be back in a bit…" Alec laughed. He gave Jules a quick kiss before leaving the room to check on his other patients.

"Well, Grace… you sure know how to make your parents lives interesting!" Jules whispered. "How are the kids taking this?"

"Well, they were able to meet Grace before we got brought over… Though, I don't think any of us thought I'd be having her at home." Josie answered. "They were however very happy to know she's healthy."

"My parents are watching them… they'll be by a little later on." Antonio added.

"Does Voight know? Or your mom?" Jules turned to Josie.

"Uh… I have no freakin' clue." Josie shrugged. "Antonio?"

"Uh, I asked the kids to call them." Antonio said. "No clue if they actually did."

"Can one of you call them please?" Josie said. She sat up as she felt a weird pain in her lower back. "Ow!"

Antonio stood up. "Jo?"

Suddenly alarms began shrieking and the room was suddenly filled with nurses. All the commotion cause Grace to wake up and her wails quickly added to the chaos. One nurse grabbed Grace from his arms.

"Hey! Where are you taking my daughter!?" Antonio demanded.

"To the nursery." The nurse shouted over her shoulder.

"I'll go with her." Jules said before chasing after the nurse.

Antonio bolted to Josie's bedside. She was sobbing and hysterical. "Babe, it's okay…"

"No! No… it's not okay… somet… something's wrong!" Josie wept. "What's… ah!"

Dr. Camdon appeared into the room. "What's going on?"

"Baby's in distress. Lost the heartrate tracing." One nurse replied.

Dr. Camdon looked to Josie. "Okay, Josie… look at me, this could just be the baby dropping."

"Look, Doc… I… I was an OB nurse back in New… Orleans." Josie gasped as another wave of intense pain hit her. "Don'… Don't patronize me."

Antonio squeezed her hand. "Jo, let…"

"NO!" Josie screeched. "I'm not stupid."

"No one is saying you are." Dr. Camdon was trying to calm her down. "Just, let me look… okay, before anyone jumps to conclusions." She turned to a nurse and whispered for her to give Josie a mild sedative.

The nurse drew up the meds and pushed them into Josie's IV.

"Okay, Jo, I need you to take long, slow deep breaths…" Dr. Camdon said. "It's not good for you or the baby to be this riled up." She lifted the sheet. She tried her best to hide her fear, but it was impossible.

"Doc, what's wrong?!" Antonio demanded.

"Get a delivery room clear now!" Dr. Jana Camdon began barking orders.

Josie's eyes widened with fear. She knew what this all meant. She knew there was a chance that their second child wouldn't be born alive. "No!"

"Josie… we…" Dr. Camdon took her hand. "We can't be sure."

"Will somebody tell me what the fuck is going on?!" Antonio was to the point of wanting to throttle someone. Josie was in hysterics. Antonio looked to medical personnel that had flooded the room. They all had the same bleak look in their eyes. He knew that something was wrong. "Come on!"

Jana nodded to the nurses that wheeled Josie off to the delivery room. She stayed back with Antonio. "Look, Antonio… there's no easy way to explain this… to any parent… never mind parents who are involved in Emergency services, or like Josie, who's a nurse. When I went to check her, there was blood and the umbilical cord is coming first… this is a rare but very serious condition. It's called an umbilical prolapse. We need to deliver that baby now."

Antonio froze. "What about Jo?"

"If we don't get that baby out now, and she starts pushing… she could hemorrhage."

"Then you go in there and you save them!" Antonio barked. "You do whatever you need to… you save my wife and my child."

"Antonio, you need to understand this… there's a chance… the baby may not make it."

"Doc… do what you gotta do… just save my wife… please." Antonio's knees were about to buckle. He never thought he'd ever be in the position where he would have to choose between his wife or their child. "Please."

Jana nodded and headed off to scrub in for what was now an emergency C-section. Another nurse came to Antonio. "Detective… Josie really wants you there, I'll show you where to gown up… hold her hand… keep her calm."

Antonio nodded weakly and followed the nurse towards the OR. She helped him into a gown and mask and led him into the OR. Josie was lying on the table, tears streaming down her cheeks. She was draped and Dr. Camdon was just entering the operation suite. Antonio sat on the stool that the nurse gave him and he took Josie's hand.

"Antonio… I'm scared." Josie wept.

"I know… baby, I am too… but we're going to get through this… together." Antonio brushed the tears from her cheeks. "We're going to be okay."

"But… the baby… I know the risks…"

"Jo, it's not your fault… this is going to work out."

Dr. Camdon looked over the draping. "Josie, we're going to start… you're gonna feel pressure, but anything else… you tell us… the epidural should be okay otherwise."

Josie nodded.

"Scalpel." Jana said as she began the crash section.

Antonio just held Josie's hand and together they prayed for their child.

"Clamps." Dr. Camdon demanded.

Antonio looked up. "Why isn't she crying?"

"Antonio?" Josie tried to lift her head from the operating table.

"Doc!" Antonio wanted answers.

"The cord was around her neck… she's not breathing." Jana snapped. "Give me cautery, got a couple bleeders here."

The pediatric team was working on their daughter. Antonio wanted to go over there and demand answers but couldn't because of the death grip Josie had on his hand. He looked off to the other side of the room and watched as the worked hard to getting their baby girl breathing again.

"Get an umbilical line going!" The pediatric specialist barked. "Push epi."

"1 minute APGAR is 0." One of the nurses whispered.

"Antonio… what… what are they saying?!" Josie was a wreck.

"They're working on her… you focus all your energy on you for now, okay." He kissed her forehead. "You need to be strong."

"Antonio… please… the baby." Josie pleaded.

"I'm not a doctor." Antonio didn't understand anything of what was being said.

"Antonio…"

"They said to get an umbilical line going and push epi…"

"Did… did they say anything about… an APGAR?"

"I can't hear that well, baby."

"Antonio, I need to know… she's not crying…"

Antonio looked up to see Dr. Camdon look to the team at the other side of the OR. The doctor was shaking his head. Jana looked down. "Okay, finish closing." She looked to the nurse. "Give her something to calm down, I need to talk to Antonio."

"Jana!" Josie protested. "No, tell me… I…" Josie stopped speaking as the medication coursed through her veins.

"What? Why did you knock her out?"

"I can't have her jumping off the table… not now."

"Talk to me… what the hell is happening?" He looked over and saw that the doctors and nurses were no longer working on his daughter. "Why did they stop?" His voice quivered as tears filled his eyes. He wasn't ready to hear the answer.

"Antonio… I'm so sorry… she… she had the cord around her neck… she, um…" Dr. Camdon's voice cracked. "She didn't have a chance… I'm sorry… she's still born." She squeezed his shoulder. "We won't take her away… not until you and Josie have a chance to say good bye… it's not easy… take the time you need… um… I can tell her, after she's out of recovery… or you can."

"How can…" Antonio's vision was blurred. "How do I tell her our daughter won't… isn't…"

"I can get someone to come help you… or I can do it…"

"No… um… thank you… but… I… I have to tell her." Antonio wiped the tears. "What… is it something we did?"

Jana shook her head. "No… this is a rare occurrence… the… when the baby was getting in position to drop, the cord must have gotten wrapped… and when the cord became prolapsed… it…"

"It strangled her." Antonio finished. "So, this isn't because we delivered Grace at home… or anything like that?"

"No." She put both hands on her shoulders. "This has nothing to do with any of that… it's a freak event… something that no one could've predicted. You and Josie did everything in your power to have a healthy pregnancy. This isn't your fault… or hers… you guys aren't to blame… you have to believe that… and you're going to have to convince Josie of it. She's going to be blaming herself… and she needs you to help her understand that she did nothing wrong."

Antonio watched as they wheeled Josie passed him to the recovery wing. "Can I go with her?"

Jana shook her head. "No one's allowed in there until after she's fully out of sedation."

"She'll… she'll ask questions…"

"We'll tell her that you'll fill her in… but, Josie's a bright woman and a great nurse."

"She knows something happened." Antonio looked over to the tiny bassinet that his daughter had been placed in. "Can… Can I touch her?"

Jana led him to the bassinet. "You can touch her… hold her… do whatever you need to get closure."

"Can… can our kids see her too… they… they've been waiting for this for a long time."

"Of course." Jana said compassionately. "We'll give you space and the time to heal… We'll bring her to a special room… I'll take you there now, okay?"

Antonio nodded and followed Jana out of the OR. His whole body was numb. He had had to tell parents that their child would never come home before, but never in his darkest nightmare had he ever thought that he'd be burying one of his own. He'd never see her walk, or hear her first words. She was born sleeping and there was nothing they could do.

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Antonio went to check on Grace in the nursery. Jules had kept her word and stayed with her. Jules knew Antonio. They'd been partners for more than a decade now. She got up and put Grace back in her bassinet. "Antonio… what… what happened?"

Antonio collapsed against her and wept. "The… baby…"

Jules was in shock. She held her partner as he wept. She looked up and saw her husband in the doorway. She mouthed to him. "What happened?" He shook his head. There was a deep sadness in his eyes. Jules put two and two together. The baby hadn't made it.

Alec came into the nursery and helped Jules get Antonio to a private room where they'd be able to say goodbye as a family. Josie was in there, asleep. Jules helped Antonio regain his composure before leaving him with Josie. She went outside and closed the door. She looked to Alec. "What happened?"

"The cord was around the baby's neck… she was stillborn."

"Does Josie know?" Jules looked back into the room. Antonio had taken Josie's hand.

"Not yet. Antonio insists on tell her himself." Alec pulled Jules into his arms. "It was another girl."

"Oh God." Jules gasped. "What… what can we do to help them?"

"Call Voight and her mom… his parents… Gaby… get them here… with the kids… they need to say goodbye."

"How do… I can't tell them…" Jules was panicked.

Alec sighed. "Just tell them that they all need to come… as soon as possible and leave it at that. Jana and I will help you… and then we just have to be there for them… let them know they're not alone." He kissed her cheek. "They're strong…"

"But they've also just lost a child, Alec… you know as well as I do what that will do to their relationship."

"I know… I know." The two of them left to go contact Antonio and Josie's families.

Antonio was sniffling. He still didn't know what he was going to tell Josie. He didn't know how to tell their kids or their parents. He didn't know anything at this point. He just begged God for strength to get through this.

Josie's voice was soft. "Antonio."

"Hey, Jo." He kissed her hand.

"What… what happened?" She looked around the room. She'd seen rooms like this in New Orleans, and when she'd first started at Med. "No… no… Antonio… please."

"I… Jo… the… she was born sleeping." Was all he could manage to say.

Josie's cry of anguish tore through him like cold steel. "NO!"

"Babe, I'm… I'm sorry… they… tried everything…" His voice barely audible. "The cord was around her neck… they couldn't bring her back."

"No… we… no… no…" Josie tried to push herself up. "This… it's… no!"

Antonio couldn't take seeing her like this. He pushed the call button on the wall and Jana quickly appeared. He shook his head.

Jana knew that Josie had gotten the news and she was in the state of denial. "Josie… Josie… you need to calm down… I don't want to have to sedate you again."

Josie was hyperventilating. Jana reached above the bed and grabbed an oxygen non-rebreather mask and put it over her face to help slow her breathing. After a few minutes, Josie's breathing began to calm and her heart rate lowered.

Josie looked up to Jana. "It's true, isn't it?"

Jana nodded. "I'm sorry, Josie… I really am. We tried everything… but the cord…"

"It's my fault… I screwed up." Josie wept.

"No!" Antonio bolted up. "Josie… this isn't either of our faults… it's a freak occurrence… you… you can't blame yourself."

"But our baby…"

"Didn't suffer." Antonio said. "She's with the Angels now… she'll watch over her big brothers and sisters… she'll always be with us…" He leaned over and hugged her. "Please… please, don't blame yourself for something that was out of everyone's control."

Jana took a couple steps back to let them sort through this. "Um, your kids, parents and um, Antonio's brother and sister are here… we thought we'd let you guys tell them and we'll give you time as a family to grieve…"

"Jana." Josie said, stopping her doctor in her tracks. "Can… can we see her first? Please?"

Jana nodded. "Of course." She left the room and went to get the bassinet. She returned. "We cleaned her up. You take as long as you need… just buzz us… when you're ready." She placed the baby in Josie's arms then left the room silently.

Josie looked down at the tiny bundle in her arms. "She's perfect… look… 10 fingers… 10 tiny fingers… and her perfect little lips…"

"She's beautiful, Jo…"

"They… they really tried everything?" Josie couldn't take her eyes off the baby. "She looks like she's just asleep."

"I saw them, Jo… she never made a sound…" Antonio wiped the tears from his eyes. "She was born sleeping, Jo."

"We need to have a name." Josie whispered. "She needs a name… we… we have to…" She sobbed. "We have to have a service for her."

"I know…" Antonio gently wiped a tear that was sliding down Josie's cheek. He was otherwise at a loss of what to say or do. He didn't know how to comfort his wife, or even how to process his own emotions and pain.

"Antonio…" She looked up at him. "You're so quiet."

"I don't know what to say, love… I don't know what to do…" His voice cracked. He rarely wore his emotions on his sleeve. Doing that gave the criminals the upper hand.

She took his hand and squeezed it. "You need to hold her too." Despite knowing that their child was stillborn, Josie knew as a nurse, that it was as hard on the dad as it was on the mom in a case like this.

"No… Jo…" Antonio took a step back. "You…"

"I was a nurse… I understand the medical… I'm also a mother… combine those two and it tells me that this is hard for you too, Antonio. You need to hold her… to say goodbye."

"But we never even got to get to know her." Antonio whispered. "It isn't fair."

Josie let a small sob escape. "I know… but, she'll be with us… always… we need this for us… before we tell the kids."

Antonio just nodded. He sat on the corner of the bed and let Josie place their baby girl in his arms. She felt heavy in his arms. "She looks like Grace… same little nose… lips."

Josie nodded, wiping away tears and sniffling. "Yeah, she does… um… what do you think of the name Angelique?"

"She is a little angel." Antonio nodded. He looked down at her. "Angelique Hope Dawson."

Josie smiled. "It's perfect."

Antonio kissed her tiny cheeks. Part of him hoped that she'd move, but he knew that that wasn't possible. "Do you think they'd let us have a picture with both of them?"

Josie nodded and hit the call button.

Jana appeared in the room. "Hey, do you want the rest of the family to come in… or do you need more time?"

Josie sniffled. "Uh, could you bring Grace… We'd like to get some pictures… for when Grace is older… to know the truth."

Jana nodded. "Of course." She went to the nursery and brought Grace and her bassinet into the room. "She can stay here with you."

Antonio looked at the bassinet and then to the bundle in his arms. "She's a little smaller than Grace."

"One twin usually is bigger than the other." Jana said. "But it has nothing to do with what happened." She reached into the bassinet and picked Grace up. "She's quiet and quite a happy little girl." She placed Grace into Josie's arms.

Antonio went and sat on the bed next to Josie. Jana took some pictures for them. Some of the girls together and some of them individually. To some, this may have been a morbid idea, but for them, they needed this for closure, because one day, Grace would ask questions, and they would need answers.

"Um, Jana… we… we can't tell them… we don't know how… can… you explain this to them, before bringing them back here?"

Jana nodded and left to go and break this heart-breaking news to the waiting family. It was a good 20 minutes before there was a knock on the door. Jana poked her head in. "Okay, I told them… there's already been tears… um, I'll be outside the door if you guys get overwhelmed."

One by one, they all came in the room. Josie was grateful that they were in a room far away from others. She didn't want their mourning and grief to overwhelm others who were celebrating. One by one their family held Grace and Angelique. They all said good bye in their own way. Josie made sure that pictures were taken of all their children. They needed to be able to always know that Angelique would be watching over them. Gaby and Tiago left first, followed by both sets of parents. Antonio knew that they as a family needed a little more time to say their goodbyes. Josie just sat and watched as the older kids held and talked to their baby sisters. They kissed each baby and made their way out of the room to their grandparents.

Diego was the last one to leave. He stopped halfway out of the door. He turned back and asked. "Dad, what does the purple butterfly on Grace's bassinet mean?"

Antonio shrugged. "I'm not sure buddy."

Josie took a deep breath before explaining. "It means that she was a twin but her twin didn't make it. It's a sign to show people that even though she's healthy and happy, she wasn't the only baby. It also helps others be respectful around us, because they'll know that we lost a baby."

"Oh." Diego replied. "That's a good idea." He hugged his parents, kissed Grace one last time and left the room.

There was a soft knock on the door. Jana came back. "I know this is a hard thing to process, but have you guys thought of which mortuary you'd like to have… for Angelique?"

Josie shook her head. "No… we hadn't thought about that… we… I guess we thought we had more time with her." She looked at the small bundle that was Angelique in her arms.

"There's no rush, but when the time does come, it tends to help to have that kind of stuff arranged." Jana said softly.

They all turned when they heard Hank's gravelly voice in the doorway. "Uh, excuse me."

"Dad?" Josie asked.

Hank walked over to the side of the bed. He looked down at his granddaughter. "I'll… I'll take care of the arrangements… you two don't worry about any of it…"

"Hank… you don't have to…" Antonio said.

"The hell I don't… she's my granddaughter… I don't want you guys to stress out over this… I'll… um, call the same people who took care of Camille. They were respectful and very understanding."

"Thank you." Josie whispered.

Hank kissed her cheek. "You just take the time you need… both of you… heal… we'll be there if you need us."

Antonio shook his father-in-law's hand. The two tended to lean towards unspoken sentiments than words. Once Hank left, Antonio and Josie spent the last few moments they could with both babies. This would be the last time for Grace to be near her sister. Once Jana came to take Angelique, Antonio put Grace in her bassinet to sleep. He then crawled into the bed next to Josie and held her tightly as they wept together. Tears of loss were mixed with the tears of joy that Grace was healthy. They just held each other until slumber took them.

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* * *

 _ **One week later…**_

Josie and Grace were finally being released from the hospital. They had had to stay a few extra days as Grace had developed jaundice and Josie had had a small infection on her incision. Antonio pulled up in front of the hospital door. Dixie had come with him. She was staying with the vehicle while he went to get Josie and Grace.

"Hey, Antonio." Alec greeted him. "How are you holding up?"

"As well as can be… the kids… they took it hard… but, um… that purple butterfly thing you guys do?"

"Yeah?"

"Diego stole it… um, when we were fixing up the baby's room… he found purple butterflies and made a mobile for Grace with them. He said it's so that Grace will always have her sister with her."

Alec couldn't help it. He wiped a tear away. "Wow… that… wow."

Antonio nodded. "Yeah. How's Jo?"

"As good as she can be. She's strong… I think once you're home though, it may hit her harder."

"I'll keep an eye out… um, thanks, for everything. I really appreciate what you and Jules have done for us."

"You've always been there for us…" Alec shook his hand. "Josie's waiting for you."

Antonio headed to her room. "Hey, babe."

"Hey." Josie looked up from feeding Grace. "All ready for us to come home?"

"Yep. Uh, we brought back all the stuff that was meant… the doubles… and we redid the nursery."

"Antonio… you guys didn't have to do that." Josie finished feeding Grace, covered herself and then went on to burp Grace.

"This is hard enough… and the kids really wanted to do it… they're worried about you."

"I'll be okay… I just think getting through the service in a couple days will be the hardest part."

Antonio nodded. "Yeah, well… our families are trying their best to keep it as small as possible… just so no one gets overwhelmed."

"I…" Josie's lips quivered. "I've had to… tell that news to parents… as a nurse… I… wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy."

Antonio hugged her. "Jo, please… please don't go there…"

"I can't help it, Antonio… I look at Grace and I see what should have been."

"Josie…" Antonio kissed her. "This is part of a greater plan, and we sadly don't know what that plan is, but this wouldn't happen otherwise."

"I don't think I can believe in that right now." Josie said bluntly. "We're good people… we've never done anything wrong. We're good people… why… why did it have to be our baby… she'd never done anything." The sobs over took her.

"Jo… baby… you can't… can't do this to yourself." Antonio knelt in front of her. "You can't… you have five children that depend on you… I can't stand seeing you like this."

"Jo, Antonio?" Jana asked.

"Hey, Jana." Antonio greeted her.

"Okay, so all the papers are filled and you're ready to go home. I've got appointments booked for you guys for the next few weeks." Jana handed Antonio the envelope with papers. "Now, this is something that I am strongly recommending for you both… I think you should speak to our therapist… or a therapist in general. Becoming parents again is a big enough adjustment, but having gone through what you've been through as a couple… it's going to be hard… so, please… at least consider it."

Josie nodded. "I just wanna go home."

Jana smiled. "Of course. Let's get you out of here."

Antonio put Grace into her baby bucket and put it in Josie's lap. He pushed the wheelchair out of the Maternity Ward and towards the exit.

Two days after Josie and Grace were home, they were having Angelique's memorial service. As Hank had promised, everything had been taken care of. Chaplain Orlovsky was performing the service. His sermon had been moving. Their closest friends and family were there. While they were sad, it also was a way for them to move on. At the end of the service, after they were at the gravesite, Diego and Xavier had come up with a very special way to say goodbye. They went to a small white box that was at the foot of Angelique's tiny casket.

Xavier spoke first. "After we were told that Angelique had been born sleeping, Diego and I thought about a way that we could say goodbye. It was hard. We hadn't had a chance to know her."

"But, I saw something at the hospital." Diego added. "They put purple butterflies on Grace's little bed… to be a symbol that her twin had been born sleeping. It got me thinking."

"In this box are butterflies… a symbol that Angelique is free to fly now." Xavier nodded to Diego.

Diego opened the lid to the box and a number of brightly coloured butterflies flew out of the box.

Josie gasped. Antonio squeezed her hand. They watched as the butterflies flittered around before disappearing into the distance.

Diego then pulled a butterfly cutout from his pocket. He put it on the tiny casket. He was followed by Xavier, Zoë and Eva. They returned to their seats. Josie was helped up by Antonio. They made their way to Angelique's casket. Josie's eyes filled with tears as she saw what was on each butterfly. Each one was a tiny prayer for Angelique to take to Heaven, or a wish. It hit her then that she wasn't the only one suffering this loss. Her children had lost a sister. She took the rose from her wrist and placed it on the casket. Antonio followed suit with his boutonniere. They went back to their seats and watched as the casket was lowered into the ground. Amazing Grace played in the background. They stayed after everyone had left. They needed one last chance to say goodbye. The children clung to their parents. Josie held onto Grace tightly. She had slept the entire service, but now she was awake. Silent as the graveyard itself. It was if she knew what was going on. She didn't make a sound. She just looked up at her mother. Josie knew then that everything would be okay. In time.

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 _ **A/N: This was by far the hardest chapter I've written for this story. Recently it was 'International Day for Miscarriages and Stillbirths'. Not every pregnancy goes smoothly and not every baby is born crying. I made a difficult choice to not have a happy ending for this pregnancy. The purple butterfly is a symbol in some hospitals to show that that particular baby did have a twin but it didn't make it. This subject is particularly hard for me to write as I have seen family and friends lose a child, either through miscarriage or stillbirth, and it is one of the hardest thing any couple could possibly go through. Until next time.**_


	11. Good Riddance

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Josie and Grace had been home for about a couple months now. Antonio returned to work a week after Angelique's memorial. The kids went back to school at that time too. Josie was slowly adjusting to having a new baby at home and not being in the field. She wasn't used to just being at home. She was unloading the dishwasher when Grace's cries came over the baby monitor. She closed the dishwasher and made her way to the nursery.

"Shh… it's okay, Grace. Mommy's here… I'm here." She gently rubbed Grace's back. Grace settled down but was still whimpering a little. Josie checked her diaper. "Ah. Well, that explains it." She took Grace to the change table and quickly changed her diaper and slipped her into a new onesie. "There. All better."

Grace cooed for her. Josie knew that Grace wasn't going to be going back to sleep any time soon. She took her and put her in her bouncy chair in the kitchen. Josie could keep an eye on here there while she worked on prepping after school snacks. She didn't know when Antonio would be home, but she knew that the kids would be back home in about an hour. She also would get supper going so that everyone was in bed at a decent hour. The last few days, the kids had been going to bed later than they should've and that resulted in very grumpy kids the next morning when it was time to get them off to school.

She had just pulled the taquitos out of the oven when the kids came running into the kitchen.

"Hey Mom!" They all exclaimed before rushing to the table to give their baby sister kisses.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about you guys adjusting to her." Josie laughed. "Okay, snacks… homework… then you guys can have some free time."

"I have practice tonight." Xavier reminded her.

Josie groaned. "I forgot about that! Xavier, I'm sorry… um…" She wasn't ready to take Grace outside in the crisp autumn air for such a long period of time just yet.

"Mom, it's okay… Tia Gaby said she'd come pick me up… and Diego wants to come watch." Xavier smiled. "I know I want you there, but there's going to be more practices and there are always the games."

Josie wanted to cry. She could've never imagined having such a mature young man as her son. "What did I do to have such great kids?"

"You just taught us well." Zoë grinned. "That and we don't want to add more stress."

"What will you girls be up to?" Josie asked.

"I've got to practice some of my knife skills for the competition next week." Zoë answered. "So, if it's okay with you, I'll invade the kitchen?"

"Well, maybe, I'll leave you to finish making supper then." Josie grinned.

"Then if she's making supper, could you help me with my history paper?" Eva chimed in. "It's about the suffragette movement."

"I can definitely do that." Josie grinned. "Alright, boys… snack then homework until Tia Gaby gets here."

Grace started to whimper. Josie swept in. "Okay, I'm gonna go feed Grace because she's jealous that you guys get taquitos."

The kids laughed as they grabbed their snacks and went to sit at the kitchen table. Josie took Grace and went to the living room to feed her. Gaby arrived right after she'd finished nursing her. Gaby spent a couple minutes fawning over her niece before shooing the boys out to her car for Xavier's practice. Zoë decided to make stew with the ingredients that Josie had pulled out. Josie put Grace down for a nap and set to helping Eva with her history assignment.

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* * *

Antonio groaned. "This is the 3rd death from this shit… and he's only a kid." He pulled the white sheet over the body.

Jules shook her head. "I know." Jules knew that cases involving kids hit Antonio harder now, especially since this victim was the same age as Xavier and Zoë. "Look, we'll get this guy."

"Not fast enough." Antonio snapped his gloves off and stormed out of the house.

Jules went to chase after him, but Jay stepped in. "Let me try to talk to him?"

Jules nodded and went to join Erin Lindsay, who was interviewing the victim's mother.

"Yo! 'Tonio!" Jay called after Antonio. "You okay, bro?"

Antonio leaned against his car. "No. No, I'm not. I will never understand these kids' fascination with trying new and dangerous things because they're taboo."

"You telling me you didn't do stupid shit when you were that age?"

Antonio groaned. "No… I did stupid shit, but after it almost got me killed, I quit. I took up boxing and I worked my ass off to become a cop."

"Well, not everyone has your determination." Jay reminded him. "We'll find this guy."

"We better, because honestly, I don't know if I can keep looking down on someone's kid then have to tell their parents… go home to my own family and not be able to explain any of this to them. Ever since Josie had Grace and we lost Angelique… I feel like I've pulled away from them because I don't want to add stress to their lives and make things harder for her."

"Having 5 kids between the ages of newborn and 15 is stressful for anyone."

"Try having both of us being cops too… she knows something's up. I try to talk about different things, but… she knows… Josie knows something is bugging me." Antonio ran his hand through his hair. "I want to tell her… ask her opinion… but it doesn't work that way. She's on Mat Leave… and our boss is also my father-in-law. That's just… fuck." He pounded the hood of the car. "I thought I could leave work at work…"

"I know. It follows you home." Jay patted his shoulder. "Look, we're done here. Let's head back to District and go over the analysis of the drug itself. Could have a distinct aspect that could lead us to the dealer."

"Yeah… you're right on that." Antonio nodded.

Jules and Erin left the house and headed over. "Back to District?" Erin asked.

Jay and Antonio nodded. They were about to head to their respective vehicles when Voight stormed out of the house and jumped into his Durango before tearing off down the street.

Antonio stared at Erin. "What the fuck is his problem?"

Erin shrugged. "No clue." She hopped in the driver's seat and waited for Jay to join her.

Antonio shook his head and got into his car where Jules was waiting.

"You okay?" Jules asked.

"I don't know anymore." Antonio put the car in gear and headed back to the district.

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Josie was in the middle of explaining the different stages of the suffragette movement when the doorbell rang. Grace began to wail. Josie looked to Eva. "Can you get that? I'll go get Grace?"

"Sure." Eva nodded and bounded for the door.

Josie poked her head into the kitchen. "Everything going okay in here?"

Zoë nodded. "Yeah. I'm good. Go get Grace." She laughed as she began sautéing some veggies.

Josie sighed. Her little girl was grown up and didn't need to have her hand held anymore. Now she had an infant that was going to need her a little more than her four older children. It was a welcome change. She missed having a baby at home, but at the same time she had forgotten the amount of energy a baby took.

Eva opened the door. "Hi."

A tall, well-dressed man stood on the porch. "Hi there." His voice was deep and had a peculiar accent.

"Can I help you?" Eva asked.

Josie's voice came from the living room. "Who's at the door, Eva?"

"I'm looking for a, uh…" He looked at a notepad. "Detective Dawson?"

"Uh, just wait here." Eva told him. She went to the living room. "Some guy looking for Detective Dawson… didn't specify which one."

Josie got up and handed Eva her baby sister. "I'll go see who it is."

"Sure thing, Mom." Eva carefully cradled her baby sister.

Josie made her way to the door and stood in shock of who was standing there. "Mike St. Ange. It's been a long time." Josie crossed her arms across her chest.

"Josie Duplessis." He grinned. "I got told at the District that you weren't a cop anymore."

"Uh… that is a long story…"

"Does it include a secret daughter?"

"Eva?"

Mike nodded.

"Eva is my step-daughter… well, we're doing the paperwork for me to legally adopt her."

"We?"

"Come in, it's gonna take too long to explain this on the porch in November." Josie stepped back to let Mike into the house.

Mike stepped in and took off his coat. "Damn cold out here compared to New Orleans."

"I've gotten used to it." Josie grinned. "So, you come all the way up from NOLA to ask about the weather?"

"No… uh, I was told to come speak to a Detective Dawson and was told they went home… so, you know this Detective Dawson?"

Josie snickered. "You'll have to be very specific. Which Dawson?"

"There's more than one?"

"Yeah, Antonio or me?" Josie said softly.

"You? Dawson? What?"

Josie raised her left hand. "I'm still a Detective… just not in Vice anymore. I'm Detective Josie Dawson, Intelligence."

"Well… a lot changed in the last 5 years." Mike laughed.

"Yeah… well…" Josie was interrupted by Grace's cries.

"Mom! Grace has a wet diaper again!" Eva called.

"Coming." Josie sighed. "Come with me. May as well catch up as we go."

"Who's Grace?" Mike asked.

"Grace is my one-month old daughter." Josie answered as they made their way into the living room. "Eva." Josie took Grace from her arms. "This is my old partner from New Orleans, Mike St. Ange."

"Hi." Eva said timidly.

"Hi." Mike smiled.

"Eva, go see if you can help Zoë in the kitchen." Josie knew that there were going to be a bunch of questions, but she could only field them from one person at a time.

Eva headed off into the kitchen.

Mike looked to her. "So, Eva is…"

"Antonio's 13-year-old daughter." Josie replied. She began to change Grace. "Um… so yeah."

"Okay, so y'all gotta fill me in. I'm very confused. You told me that he was married when y'all came back in '05."

Josie took a deep breath. "He was. His wife was pregnant with Diego… who's at practice with Xavier right now. She didn't want me around, so I wasn't… but I only recently found out that she was in a car crash shortly before Diego was born that left her brain dead. Antonio kept her on life support as long as possible so Diego had the best chance. He raised both kids as a single dad until, well… very recently."

"Okay… following so far."

"I stayed close friends with his sister, Gaby… she knew but I didn't want to hear anything about him… so I worked in Homicide for a bit but then got moved over to Vice… Antonio was Vice too, but we never worked together until about a year ago." Josie slid Grace's onesie back over her fresh diaper. "I was working UC at the hospital. I had gotten in with a pimp here… I was his inside track if his girls got brought into the ED… anyhow, I went to a bar with some of the nurses from the ED and the pimp came in. Antonio was working for him as security… he got him to back off… Uh… I didn't know it was him… I went back to his place, well his cover's place… and we had sex… And Grace, here, is the result."

"Wow." Mike stroked his jawline. "Just, wow. So, he obviously found out… you were alive and that he had kids?"

"Yeah… he stayed with me through physio and everything… and he was there when I found out who my dad really is."

"Your mama finally let you in on that secret?"

"Yeah… turns out he's our boss in Intelligence… the same guy who smuggled me out of the house the day I found the explosives."

"Voight?! Your biological father is HANK VOIGHT!?" Mike couldn't hold in his shock. "Jesus Christ!"

"Hey, simmer down." Josie motioned to Grace who was starting to dose off. "I don't need to have her screaming today."

"So not only is he your boss, and Antonio's… he's also your dad?"

"Yep."

"Damn… that must be awkward." Mike leaned back into the couch.

"Yep. Especially since Antonio arrested him last year… and my half-brother."

"Wow… aren't you're the queen of family drama now?"

"Oh, Mike… trust me… it's no picnic. Then when Antonio and I actually found each other again and started to make this relationship work, Eva wasn't really fond of the idea because she still had memories of her mother." Josie explained the rest of the story, from the pregnancy to the wedding and finally with the birth of Grace and Angelique. "Angelique was still born."

"Oh, Jo… I'm so sorry!"

"It's been hard, but we've been making it through… one day at a time."

"Wow." Mike ran his hand through his hair. "You've been through hell the last 8 years."

"Mostly the last year… but yeah." Josie sighed. "So, what the hell are you doing so far north?"

"Uh, chasing down one of our ghosts."

"What?"

Mike nodded. "We got an alert that Detective Dawson in the Intelligence unit here in Chicago input some data concerning a case that sent up red flags back in NOLA."

"Which case?" Josie repositioned Grace in her arms.

"Antonio doesn't talk to you about it?"

Josie cocked her head to one side. "He doesn't want to stress me out… you know 5 kids, and one is a month or so old?"

"Fair enough."

"So, Mike… seriously… who are you chasing?"

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Antonio walked into the front doors of the district, physically exhausted.

"Dawson!" Platt called him to the desk.

"Yeah, Sarge?" Antonio looked to his old partner. "What's up?"

"Some guy came looking for you… Detective St…. something… said he has news on the case you're working on."

"Okay, well… where is he?" Antonio looked around.

"I was told you went home… I sent him there." Trudy didn't even look up from her computer.

"Oh, shit." Antonio groaned.

"What?" Trudy seemed annoyed that he was still standing there.

"I didn't want work going home… too much stress on Jo."

"Look, I'm sure he won't stay and bug her if you're not there." Trudy tried to ease his anxiety.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Antonio sighed. "Thanks, Sarge."

He went back to join Jules upstairs. He was halfway to Intelligence when his phone pinged. He looked at the text from Eva. "What the hell?"

"Hey, what's up?" Jules asked.

Antonio showed her the phone. "There was some guy here earlier asking for me, Platt sent him to the house because that's where she'd been told I went… and he's sitting in my living room with Josie and the baby."

"What?!" Jules took the phone and read the text from Eva. "It was Jo's old partner?"

"That's what Eva's saying… I… Let's go… gotta find this out what the fuck is going on around here."

"Yeah, yeah." Jules handed him back his phone. She followed him as he raced to his car to get home.

It didn't take long for them to get to their house, especially since Antonio threw on the lights and sirens to run every red light between the district and Wicker Park. He killed the sirens and lights as he pulled into their block. He pulled up into the driveway and killed the engine. He looked to Jules. "Could you… uh, just make sure I don't kill this guy?"

"You got it." Jules nodded.

Antonio ran up the steps of the house and headed in. He didn't announce anything. He had texted Eva to tell her to stay where she was with Zoë and that he was coming home. He wanted to know about this guy. He got the feeling that there was something about this guy and he wanted to know why he'd still be here even though Josie would've told him that he wasn't home. "Jo?" Antonio called out.

Josie looked to Mike. "Antonio's home." She called out. "In the living room, babe."

Antonio headed over there, keeping one hand near his gun and signaled for Jules to check on the girls. "Jo?"

"Hey, baby." Josie got up and kissed Antonio. "Uh, Mike St. Ange, I'd like you to meet my husband, Antonio Dawson… Antonio, this is Mike St. Ange, my former partner back in New Orleans."

Mike got up off the couch with Grace in his arms. He extended his hand. Antonio shook it but felt his blood boil when he saw another man holding his infant daughter.

He took Grace from Mike. "Hi." Antonio said. "Uh, curious… if you were looking for me, why are you here?"

"Antonio!" Josie hissed. "He came to help on your case."

Antonio groaned. "Sorry, uh… Detective. I just have been keeping my work life away from my personal life… just a little less stress on Jo and the kids."

"She explained that to me. I get it. It's been a long year for you guys and your family." Mike smiled. "Uh, we were just catching up… but, she is probably a big help in this case."

"How so?" Jules asked.

Everyone spun around.

"Jesus, Jules!" Josie exclaimed. "Where'd you come from?"

"The kitchen… by the way, I'm so staying for supper." Jules laughed. "That stew that those girls are cooking up is amazing."

"Well… the more the merrier." Antonio said. He knew that Jules was only there to stop things from getting out of control. He still needed to get a feel for this Mike character.

"So, you were saying?" Jules looked to Mike.

"Jo and I, we chased this guy you're looking way back when we worked Narcotics and in Vice, back New Orleans." Mike replied.

"How did you even find out about our case?" Antonio questioned.

"The drug composition you put into the system… it alerted us in NOLA… to a bunch of unsolved overdoses in our area."

"You know the dealer?"

"Yep." Jo stepped in. "He was the one who got away… my white whale."

Antonio turned to face his wife. "You're joking, right?"

Jo shook her head. "Nope."

Antonio groaned. "Okay, well… you guys are gonna have to fill us in… back at the District."

"What about Grace?" Josie motioned to their sleeping daughter.

"Take her with us." Antonio said. "It'll keep your dad from flipping his shit, knowing that you have connections to this."

"Yeah, I guess." Josie sighed. "I'll go get her car seat."

"I'll ride with you." Mike said, a little too quickly for Antonio's liking.

"Actually, maybe it's best if you ride with me." Jules jumped in. She didn't need Antonio's fiery Dominican temper to get out of line right now.

"Sure, whatever's easiest." Mike laughed. "See you guys there?"

Antonio nodded. He handed Jules the keys and went to talk to the girls in the kitchen before heading back out.

Josie got Grace strapped into the car seat and headed to meet Antonio at her Enclave.

"Jo," Antonio asked after getting Grace's car seat in the car. "Why didn't you tell me about your old partner?"

Josie looked to him. "Does it really matter?"

"Yeah, it does." Antonio buckled up. "I see the way he looks at you… there's… something there, more than partnership."

Josie started the engine. "Can I explain everything… tonight? When you're not pissed off at the fact that he showed up on our doorstep. Pretty sure if I took your blood pressure right now, it'd be through the roof."

"Fine. Tonight." Antonio muttered.

"Just so you know, he's married… with two kids." Josie said backing out of the garage.

Antonio wanted to say that meant nothing, but he didn't want to fight. Not today.

They arrived at the District. Josie unbuckled Grace from her car seat and Antonio grabbed the diaper bag. She locked the vehicle and they headed upstairs to the Intelligence bullpen.

Erin and Jay were asking Jin where Voight was when they got there. Erin looked up. "Hey, Josie! What are you doing here?"

"Uh, came to bring you guys a lead." Josie smiled.

Erin came over and took Grace from her arms. While Josie was still getting used to the fact that Erin was basically like a daughter to her father, she really did enjoy having her as a 'sister'. She doted on all 5 children, and had learned to listen more to Antonio since the Intelligence unit became official. "What lead?" She looked between both Dawsons.

"That's where he comes in." Jules said, pointing to Mike, who was steps behind her.

"Who's he?" Jay asked.

"Mike St. Ange." Mike extended his hand.

"Mike was my partner back in NOLA." Josie smiled. "Whatever info you guys put in the system, sent up some red flags down there and he came up here to help. Turns out, the bad dope you've been chasing… comes from…"

Suddenly, Hank Voight came barreling up the stairs. He whispered something to Jin and then froze. "Josie! What… what are you and the baby doing here?"

"Uh, information… on your case…" She turned to Mike. "Mike St. Ange, this is my dad… Sergeant Hank Voight. Dad… this is Mike… he was my partner back in New Orleans."

Hank looked and saw that Grace was in Erin's arms. "And you brought Gracie for a visit."

"Yeah, Dad." Josie smiled. She knew her dad had a reputation for not liking 'foreign' cops in his bullpen.

Erin knowing what Josie was up to, placed the sleeping Grace into her grandfather's arms.

"Okay… I got a name." Hank said softly, for the first time since Intelligence's history.

"Rev." Josie and Mike said in unison.

Hank's jaw dropped. "You know this clown?"

Mike nodded. "Sadly."

"Dad, he's my white whale." Josie said. "His drugs have killed lots of people back in New Orleans too."

Jules pulled up Rev's rap sheet on her computer. "He hasn't been in Chicago very long… how the hell hasn't CPD been onto this guy."

"I think it's because he's got connections now… people that help him cover his tracks." Mike stepped up. "Not sure who, but they're also the ones who had to tell him to get the out of New Orleans. We almost had him… but he disappeared off the radar… back before Katrina hit."

"He hasn't been in Chicago that long." Jules said. "He may have been somewhere else, but he wasn't here."

"Okay, well… my source told me he deals out of an apartment on South Emerald. We roll out in 5." Hank turned to Josie. "Can, uh… you two stay here and we'll hopefully be able to lay this whole thing to rest?" Hank looked down at his sleeping granddaughter. "You are the sweetest thing." He kissed the tip of her nose. "Love you, Gracie." He handed Grace back to her mother. "We'll be back soon."

"Sure. I'll call Gaby and let her know to stay with the kids until we come home." Josie nodded. She gently took Grace from her father's arms. "Be safe."

"Always will." He signaled to Erin and Jay. "You two, undercover buy in the doorway. Don't cross that threshold." He paused. "Everyone goes home tonight."

Jay and Erin went to change while the others geared up for this op. Josie followed Antonio. "Promise me you'll be safe."

Antonio grinned. "Always, baby."

"Antonio… Rev isn't just a banger." Josie tried to reason with her husband. "Like, this guy is into all kinds of shit."

"Jo, babe… I've been in Chicago my whole life… I know. I know how dangerous these guys are. I love you and I will be coming home to you, and to our kids." He kissed her deeply. "I promise." He kissed Grace's cheek. "I promise you both."

Josie sighed. "Okay… we're holding you to that… Plus Zoë made stew for supper."

"I wouldn't miss it." He grabbed his vest and strapped it on. He made on final check on his weapons and said. "I gotta go, baby. Stay here. Uh… Just… be careful with your old partner."

"Antonio, I promised you that I would tell you everything tonight… don't push it." Josie said. "I love you."

"Love you more." He said before following Jules to his car.

Josie closed the roll up door and headed back upstairs to the bull pen and wait anxiously for the team to come home, hopefully in one piece.

* * *

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* * *

Erin and Jay made their way to the address that Voight's source had given them. Antonio and Jules stayed in his car as backup. Voight and Al were back in Voight's Durango. They listened in on the conversation.

Jay pounded on the door. "Rev! Hey! Rev, open up!"

Antonio spoke over the radio. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that Rev isn't home."

"Come on, man!" Jay continued pounding on the door.

"What!?" An annoyed voice came over the comms.

"Uh." Jay stumbled over his words. "Is Rev here?"

"No!" The stranger barked. "So quit pounding on the door."

"Hey, man… Yo, my girl… she's going into rehab tomorrow. Wants to go out with a bang tonight. Rev… he usually hooks me up." Jay tried to convince this other guy to do the buy.

Antonio wanted to tell him not to push it, but he couldn't risk blowing their cover.

"You ever been to rehab, man? It sucks." Jay pushed a little more.

Antonio was groaning internally. Jay needed to cool off a little or else he was going to freak this guy out.

"Come in." The stranger said.

Erin stopped Jay from stepping into the house. "We'll come back when Rev's here." She said in a very forceful tone.

Jay snapped back. "You've been up my ass for two hours about scoring some H."

Erin retorted sarcastically. "Well… I changed my mind."

Jay laughed softly. "Mujeres, right?"

The stranger grunted and slammed the door in Jay and Erin's faces. They took off to the meeting point. Antonio drove around the block to meet them. Voight was already there waiting. They gathered around to go over what happened.

"It looked like blood." Erin was trying to justify not going through with the buy. "That and we didn't know that guy."

"You don't have to justify it. If you got a bad hit, you got a bad hit." Voight reassured her. "Let's go in."

The whole team knew how badly they needed to catch Rev, but they also knew that they had no justifiable cause for a forced entry. Jules stepped in. "No, 'cause maybe it looked like blood? That's not probable cause to force an entry."

Antonio jumped in to help his partner out. "He could've been marinating a chicken and spilled barbecue sauce on his pants." He looked to see Voight giving him a death glare.

Voight added to it "We've got 3 OD's traced back to the heroin Rev's moving. You wanna wait for another kid to die?"

Al, sensing the tension rising, threw in a perfect idea. "We'll do a knock and talk. Alright? Whoever's in control of the apartment gets squirrely, we'll take it from there. Okay?"

His suggestion was most logical and permitted them more advantages than just barging in guns blazing. This calmed everyone and got them focused back on the ultimate goal.

Hank keyed his radio. "We're going back up, stand by."

Burgess responded. "Tucked in and ready to go, boss."

Once everyone was ready, they made their way back to the apartment. Hank questioned Antonio. "Barbecue sauce as a marinade… what is that? Some kinda Puerto Rican thing or something?"

Antonio sighed. Hank should know this already, especially considering they'd known each other for some time already. "I'm Dominican."

"It's got too much sugar in it. It'll burn the meat." Hank added.

Antonio really could've cared less about the grilling tips at this point. They had no clue as to what they were walking into. As soon as Hank finished his two bits, gunfire started to rain down on them from Rev's apartment. Everyone dove for cover, Hank almost hip checking Antonio behind the trunk of a parked sedan.

Antonio grabbed his radio. "10-1!" He shouted. "Shots fired at the police! 10-1! 5600 Emerald. Plain clothes officers at the scene!" Last thing anyone needed was to get caught in the crossfire when other units responded.

Voight looked to the others behind him. He bellowed over the gunfire. "Get the long guns!"

Jay, and Al ran back to them from the back of their coverts. Al grabbed his battering ram at the same time. They didn't have time to mess with doors that were most likely reinforced. They got back to the others as Burgess and Atwater pulled up, sirens blaring. Once everyone was properly armed, they made their way back up to the front of Rev's apartment.

Antonio took point upon entrance. "Police! Clear!" He shouted as he swept through the apartment, Jules on his tail.

Jules and Erin went ahead of him and cleared the next rooms. "Clear!" Jules shouted.

Erin called back. "Body!"

They all made their way to the living room. Jay was the last one to come in from the exterior. He looked into the bathroom. "That's Rev in the john." He told the others upon joining them in the living room.

Antonio looked to Voight. "Offender musta booked."

Voight was livid. Rev may be dead, but someone killed him and someone was supplying him with the bad heroin. He grabbed his walkie. "Call it in. Clear the rest of the building. Shooter's in the wind."

A noise from the closet put everyone on high alert. Jules went to the closet and grabbed the handle. On Antonio and Voight's signal, she opened the door. Everyone pointed their weapons at a young boy, no older than 12 or 13. His hands were raised. Jules holstered her weapon and cuffed him. He may not have been the shooter, but he witnessed something. He was the only lead they had. They would question him back at the District.

* * *

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* * *

Once back at the roll up, Voight told Jules to bring their witness upstairs. They'd pull his file, which he almost certainly had, and they get him to give them everything he knew.

Antonio stopped in front of his father-in-law. "Beheading? That's a signature cartel move."

Voight agreed with him. Antonio nodded and went off after Jules. Together, they'd hopefully be able to get something out of D'Anthony.

Josie and Mike were still going over everything they could remember about Rev and how he had worked when the others got there. Mike gave Jay and Erin the files he'd brought up from New Orleans. It was a lot of paper work. Antonio kept his eye on Mike. He trusted and believed his wife, but he didn't trust Mike any further than he could throw him.

"Hey, got D'Anthony's file." Jules walked up him. "Ready to see if he'll talk?"

Antonio sighed. "Yeah, well… as ready as I'll ever be to interrogate a kid that's my kid's age who's running drugs."

Josie looked at him. She could see this case was weighing on him. She went over and kissed his cheek. "It's gonna be okay, baby."

"I know… just hate these cases that involve kids."

"I know. I hate 'em too." She smiled. "Just, don't be too hard on him."

"I know." He laughed. He looked over and caught Mike staring at them for a split second before he turned back to the file he was going over with Jay. He grabbed the file Jules was holding and together they headed to the interrogation room.

* * *

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* * *

"I heard Rev was looking for a runner." D'Anthony was explaining. "You know, get his lunch and smokes and lottery tickets and stuff. So, I went over there to see if I could get the job. Someone knocked on the door, he went out of the room. I heard yelling, and that's… that's when I ducked into the closet."

Antonio slid part of D'Anthony's file across the table. "You're in our gang database, D'Anthony. We know you were in the same crew as Rev. Did he piss someone off? Was someone moving in on is action?"

D'Anthony looked down at the paper Antonio had slid to him. He knew he'd been caught in a lie, but these cops were different that the ones that usually questioned him.

Jules' maternal instinct kicked in. She softened her tone and showed her concern for D'Anthony. "Did you see what happened to Rev?"

D'Anthony shook his head. "No." His voice cracked. "I heard it."

Jules reached across the table and took D'Anthony's hand. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." D'Anthony shrugged off her hand and pulled his arms closer into his chest.

Jules looked to Antonio. At this point, it was looking more and more like they needed his tough cop to break this kid.

"What all did you hear?" Antonio pushed. They needed to know who took Rev out.

D'Anthony looked away. They could tell whatever it was that he heard, it wasn't good. "There were three of them." His voice was quieter.

"Did you get a good look at them?" Antonio asked.

"No, I hid as soon as I heard the yelling."

"What were they saying?"

Jules kept an eye on D'Anthony's posture and body language.

"I dunno. Most of it was in Spanish."

"How about a name?"

D'Anthony bit his lip. "I don't know if it was a name, but Rev kept yelling 'Pulpo'."

Antonio and Jules froze. They looked to each other. This had just gone from bad to worse in a heartbeat. They thanked D'Anthony and left the interrogation room.

"Can't be the same Pulpo." Jules tried to reason.

Antonio shrugged and headed back to the bullpen. He went to his computer and pulled up a mug shot of Pulpo. If it was him, Jay and Erin would be able to ID him. He handed Erin the mugshot.

"Yeah, that's him. That was the guy who answered the door."

Antonio took the picture back. He pinned it to the whiteboard. "Adres Dias, aka Pulpo. The Octopus. He's got dual citizenship here and in Columbia." He wrote on the board that he was associated to the Medellin Cartel. "Me and Jules had him on our radar about five years back, when he was working his way up from street enforcer."

"Yeah, I remember his name." Voight said from the back of the room, where he was gently rocking Grace. "Didn't he beat a double murder rap?"

Jules nodded. "The two key witnesses were killed."

"Was he cutting off heads back then, too?" Erin asked.

"No, he learned a thing or two since he was in Colombia." Jules replied.

"What type of player was he? What part of the city did he hold down?" Jay asked, rapidfire.

"Oh, see, that's the thing… he wasn't affiliated with any faction." Antonio answered, tapping Pulpo's file against his open palm. "Nobody knew his real script. He was just in it for the money and the blood."

Josie cringed. Those were the worst type of criminal. They had no loyalty but to themselves. "I guess that explains where Rev got the help." She whispered to Mike.

"Definitely would explain that." He agreed.

Voight looked to Josie. "Take Grace… go home. I'll send everyone home for the night in a little bit." He turned back to the others. "You two." Signalling to Jay and Antonio. "In my office."

Josie looked to Antonio and mouthed. "What did you do?"

Antonio shrugged and mouthed back. "No idea." He glared at Jay before handing the file to Jules and headed to Hank's office, Jay in tow.

As they walked into his office, Voight spoke. "Have you ever heard the expression, '10% of the cops do 90% of the work'?"

"I have." Jay answered, putting his hands on his hips.

"Well, this Intelligence unit… is part of that 10%." Voight said, pulling his leather jacket on. "With that said, I appreciate your aggressiveness, but you were instructed to do an undercover buy in the doorway." Hank put emphasis on the word 'doorway'. "I never told you to cross the threshold. If you had… you and Lindsay might not have gotten out of there alive." He turned to Antonio and pointed a finger at him. "You vouched for him. Keep him in line." He pushed his way between the two and signalled to Erin that they were rolling out.

Antonio looked to Jay. "Can't you follow orders?"

"I can… but I wanted this guy off the streets."

"Yeah, well… keep your head down and keep in line. He may only be your boss, but he's my boss and my father-in-law… that's a double whammy I don't wanna deal with. Got it?"

Jay nodded. "Yeah, I got it."

Antonio went to Josie. "Hey, so… go home… I'll be there soon… okay? Jules and the kids will be joining us for supper tonight… Alec is working overnight and she really wants that stew that Zoë's been cooking."

Josie nodded and kissed him. "Okay, but just so you know, Mike is gonna be there too."

"Why?" Antonio asked, more aggressively than he had meant to.

"Because I invited him and he wants to see the twins. He's known them a good chunk of their life."

"I'm not exactly fond of that idea, Jo."

"Antonio… he's just a friend. You don't see me getting all uppity because you spend hours on end with Jules."

"Jules is my partner."

"Mike was mine." Josie snapped. "I'm going home to check on the kids. I'll see you there." She buckled Grace into her car seat. "Maybe you need some time to cool off."

"Jo!" Antonio called after her.

"What the hell was about?" Jules walked up to him.

"I opened my big Dominican mouth." Antonio sighed. "You able to dig anything up on the Mike character?"

"I got a friend down there looking into him."

"Thanks."

"Hey!" Jay said. "Erin just texted me. They got a name on Rev's transport guy. We got an address. They want us to meet us there."

Antonio groaned. "Okay, vest up." He looked around. "Where's Olinski?"

"Getting a recruit from the Academy if we need to do another buy." Jules replied.

"Oh… okay… Let's roll out." Antonio grabbed his jacket and headed down the stairs. He just prayed that Josie wouldn't be pissed at him by the time he got home.

* * *

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* * *

They pulled up to Coop's address and quietly opened the gate to head onto the porch. Antonio, Jay and Erin went up first. Jules and Voight were keeping an eye on the street and alley.

Antonio pounded on the door. "Eric Cooper! Hey, Coop! Open up!" He pounded harder.

Jay pointed to the door. "Pry marks."

Both detectives looked to Voight who nodded. "Breach."

Jay aimed his shotgun at the lock and fired. He kicked the door open and let Antonio take point.

"Police!" Antonio shouted. He cleared the living room. "Clear!"

Jules, Jay and Erin cleared the other rooms. They found no one, but they did find Coop's decapitated body lying in a pool of blood on the kitchen floor and his head on the kitchen counter.

Voight looped his thumbs into his belt. "Next head I see… better be Pulpo's." He turned on his heel and headed back outside.

Jules called in the crime unit. She looked to Antonio and shook her head. This case with Pulpo was worse than the one from 5 years ago. Antonio nodded and headed outside after his father-in-law.

He looked at his watch. "Fuck."

"Antonio." Voight walked up to him. "What's going on between you and Josie?"

"Whatta ya mean?"

"You know damn well what I mean." Voight grasped at his vest. "Something's not right between you two right now."

Antonio sighed. "It's her old partner."

"What about him?"

"I don't trust him." Antonio said bluntly. "The way he looks at her…"

"Oh, so I'm not the only one who saw him making puppy eyes at her?"

Antonio stared at him. "What? You saw that too?"

"Only thing that stopped me from wiping that look off his face was Gracie." Voight answered. "You gonna talk to him?"

"I wanna punch his goddamn lights out, but Jo just keeps defending him. She points out how close Jules and I are, but we don't look at each other that way."

Voight grunted. "Hmph. Well… go home, sort this out. We'll keep hunting Pulpo down tomorrow." He motioned to the others to join them. "Sun's gone down. No point in chasing ghosts in the dark. Go home, rest up. We'll meet at the District at 7 tomorrow morning. Go over what we've got so far."

They nodded and parted ways. Antonio took Jules home so she could pick up Liam and Emmy. Then they all headed to Antonio's for supper. He bought a bouquet of wild flowers on the way home in hopes of calming Josie down. He didn't know how well that would work, but he had to try something. He went into the dinning room where Josie was setting the table. He extended the bouquet. "I'm sorry, Jo. I blew this whole thing out of proportion."

Josie stopped looked at the bouquet then at him. She put down the cutlery and took the bouquet from him. "Damn right you did." She smelled the flowers. "Hmm. You're lucky you're cute… and I like flowers." She kissed him on the cheek. "Did you get anything else on the case?"

Antonio nodded grimly. "Another decapitated body." He whispered.

"Shit." Josie took the flowers to the kitchen to trim and put in a vase with water.

"Yeah. Voight called it off for tonight. We're gonna look at it with clear eyes tomorrow."

"Well, I have to agree with him." She put the flowers on the island. "Clear eyes and rested brains tend to work better."

"Yep." He looked around. "Where are the kids?"

"With Gaby out back." She smiled. They're making leaf piles and jumping in them.

"Grace too?"

"No, Gaby just wanted time with her niece." Josie said. "Go wash up, dinner's almost served."

"Where's Mike?"

"I dropped him off at his hotel. He's gonna be here soon. He had to go update his captain."

"Ah. Okay. Jules and the kids are coming in right now." Antonio added.

"There's more than enough stew and fresh bread." Josie pointed to the vast amount of food that was in the kitchen.

"She baked bread too?" Antonio was astonished.

"Bread, cinnamon buns and she made pecan pie… the way my mama makes it."

"Damn!" Antonio went over to smell the bread. "At least we know she'll never starve in college."

"I think she wants to go to culinary school." Josie pointed out. "Go… wash up." The doorbell rang. "Everyone's here."

"Going… going." He laughed and headed to the master bathroom to clean up and change.

* * *

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* * *

After supper, Jules and her kids headed home so she could get them tucked in and read them their bedtime stories.

Antonio and Josie walked her to the door. "Thanks for coming tonight."

"Hey, what are partners for?" She hugged him. She looked to Liam and Emmy. "Whatta ya say to Antonio and Josie?"

"Thank you for supper." They grinned.

Antonio laughed. Josie just grinned back. "Any time. You guys are always welcome." She bent down and hugged them both. "Sweet dreams you two."

Jules got them into their booster seats and headed home. Antonio and Josie waited until she'd pulled away from the curb to go back to the kitchen to go through the dishes. Antonio froze when he saw the scene in front of him. His children were laughing and joking with Mike in their kitchen.

Josie could see the rage in his face. She cleared her throat. "Hey, guys… it's getting pretty late and four of you have school in the morning."

"But Mom!" All four kids whined at once.

"No buts." Josie put her hands on her hips. "Say goodnight to Mike… and go get ready for bed."

The kids knew better than to be asked twice. They did as they were told, hugged their parents and bid Mike a good night. They headed off to their rooms to brush their teeth and get changed into their pyjamas.

Antonio looked at Josie. "Uh…"

"I wasn't about to have World War III erupt in my kitchen." Josie said. She looked between them. "You two… need to talk… I'm going to go bathe Grace and get her ready for bed. Solve this, or I call Dad."

Antonio watched as his wife stomped off to the nursery. He spun and glared at Mike. "Leave the dishes… you and I… we're gonna have a little chat."

Mike put the dish towel down and followed Antonio to the basement. "Torture chamber?"

"No… workout space." Antonio muttered. He sat on one of the benches. "Now… We're alone… I wanna know… why you making eyes at my WIFE?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"Don't play dumb… I've been a detective for over a decade… I know signs… what you got going on with Jo?"

"Nothing."

"Bullshit." Antonio stood up. "Even her own father, my boss, could see you have feelings for her… so you start talking… or I lay you out right here, right now."

Mike glared at him. "Go ahead… lay me out. It won't stop anything."

"Listen here… Josie and I… we should've been married a long time ago… we should've raised those twins ourselves. I sure as fuck didn't want her to do it alone!" Antonio spat. "I didn't have a say any more than she did. So what makes you think you can just waltz back in her life 8 years later?!"

Mike said nothing.

"Aren't you married?" Antonio grabbed his left hand. "What does your wife have to say about all this?!"

Mike yanked his hand away from Antonio. "You were out of their lives for almost 15 years! You think you can just walk into their lives and pretend nothing happened?!"

"No! I know that! I've been making up for the last 15 years. If I could go back… be there for her… be here so she wouldn't have to be shipped off to have OUR children on her own at 18!" Antonio was fully ready to throttle this guy.

"I was there for her!" Mike shouted. "I was there for her when she came onto NOPD… I was her partner! I cared for her and those kids… like they were my own."

"They weren't… they never would've been yours."

"Oh, I know… because when I offered her my last name… to give them a dad… she told me no… that she couldn't love me like she loved you!"

Antonio froze. Mike took this opportunity to throw himself at Antonio. He caught Antonio off guard. Antonio took a couple steps back and regained his footing. He brought his right arm back and swung. He caught Mike right in the nose. Mike flew back a good couple of feet and landed on his ass.

"You have a pair of balls on you." Antonio massaged his jaw. "Now, you came… you gave us a hand in this case… you're done. So, you're gonna pack up and headed back to New Orleans. You're gonna leave Chicago in your rear view and you are NEVER, and I mean NEVER going to contact Josie again… you do… I'll sic my father-in-law on you… he's been to prison… he's got plenty of skeletons in his closet… and I sure as fuck don't mind adding you to his list."

Mike stood back up. "You can't tell me…"

"I'm not just telling you… that's an order… here, you've got zero jurisdiction. You know that all Rev's drugs were supplied by the Medellin cartel… your cases are closed and you can go back to your wife and kids."

Mike knew he didn't have much of a choice. He knew he'd been beat. That and Josie had told him that what she and Antonio had was unbreakable. He sighed. "Fine." He wiped the blood from his nose. "But… you ever hurt her… do wrong by her… I don't give a fuck who your father-in-law is… I'll come back… and I'll finish this." He spun on his heel and stormed up the stairs.

Antonio didn't know if he should feel proud or ashamed at this moment but he knew he wasn't about to let someone come between him and his wife. He waited a few minutes before heading upstairs. The lights were out and Mike's rental car was gone from in front of the house. He made his way to the master bedroom. He stopped along the way to check on Grace. She was sound asleep in her crib. He quietly closed the door and continued to the bedroom. He went in. Josie was sitting on the bed, flipping through an old photo album. "Hey." He said, quietly.

"Hey." She whispered.

"Uh… I guess… he told you?"

"He didn't have to… pretty sure your parents were able to hear what was going on downstairs." Josie didn't look up from the album.

"Jo…"

"No, Antonio… I get it… I saw it too…" Josie finally looked up at him. She patted the bed next to her. "We've been back together… almost a year now… and it hasn't necessarily been easy for both of us… or the kids."

Antonio sat down. "I know, Jo… but I've been trying."

"Antonio, I can't ask more of you." Josie leaned her head on his shoulder. "You've been amazing… I've been the one who obviously hasn't been open enough about the last 15 years with you."

"Jo… babe… you don't owe me anything." Antonio brushed her bangs from her eyes. "You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."

Josie looked up at him and blinked away the tears that had formed in the corners. "You need the truth Antonio. Our relationship can't last if there are lies or half-truths." She handed him the album. "This is the twins' baby album… for the first 5 years… it was me, Mama and them against the world." Josie waited for Antonio to flip through it. She felt her heart hurt as he stopped and touched the pictures of their first steps or their first day of kindergarten. "You didn't get to be a part of this… it wasn't fair to you or them… they needed their daddy… you."

"I would've given anything to be there for this." Antonio's voice cracked. "Jo, I'm sorry… I'm so sorry… I wasn't there…"

"Antonio… this isn't your fault… it never was." Josie sighed. "So… I finished nursing school in those first 3 or 4 years. After that, I worked in OB… but it wasn't me… so I joined the NOPD's Academy. After I graduated, I was… partnered with Mike… we worked up the ranks together. I made Detective in record time. I worked Homicide with him, Vice and some time in Narcotics. Over that time… Mike, well… he became closer to me. He and I dated, but I knew it would never go anywhere. My heart has always belonged to you. When I saw the kids getting too attached to him, I broke it off. By that point, Katrina was bearing down on us and I had to get out." She took a deep breath. "We had a physical relationship, I won't deny that… but I couldn't feel what he felt… what I had felt with you."

Antonio let this sink in. He hadn't thought of her dating or even being in a relationship when she was gone. He had felt guilt for marrying Laura, but he was now trying to imagine the guilt that she had been carrying for the last year.

"After I moved back here, I told him what I had found out about you. I told him that I was staying and that, no matter what… I was alone and I was fine with that." Josie sighed. "We stayed in touch… I went down for his wedding the next year…"

"That must've been awkward." Antonio laughed lightly.

Josie arched an eyebrow. "A little, but I genuinely thought he was happy…"

"He's not?"

Josie shook her head. "I called Moira… his wife… she told me he moved out two weeks ago… that they hadn't been in a real marriage since their youngest was born a little less than a year ago."

"So, around the time… you and I got back together?" Antonio did the mental math.

Josie nodded. "She said that he'd been keeping tabs on me… she didn't think much of it because we used to be partners. But, after he moved out, she found things that suggested he wasn't over me. I didn't want to believe that… but, that's why I wanted you to sort this out… otherwise, I would've called Dad… and…"

"You suspect Mike would be at the bottom of the Chicago River." Antonio concluded.

"Yeah." Josie agreed. "So, thank you… but you really didn't have to bust his nose, did you?"

"He swung at me first." Antonio said in his own defense.

Josie sighed. "Okay… well… We should get some sleep, huh?"

"Why?" Antonio asked in a childlike tone.

"Oh Lord." Josie shook her head. "You've got a big case ahead of you… you gotta get that Pulpo."

"Hmph." Antonio grunted.

"What's that?" Josie asked.

"Uh, well… before we do… you should know I asked Jules to look into Mike."

"I figured as much." Josie replied. "Did she get anything?"

"Not yet… she figured she'd get it by morning." Antonio said.

"Okay… well… will you tell me?"

"Do you wanna know?"

Josie thought about it. "Yeah… I do… because if he's gone off the rails… he needs to be dealt with."

"Are you worried he'd do something."

"I don't know… he spent a lot of time in deep cover… he still has a thing for me… who knows."

Antonio looked at his watch. "It's almost midnight. Voight wants us at the District at 7 am sharp… bright eyed and bushy tailed."

"My dad said that?"

"Well, not in so many words." Antonio smirked.

Josie slapped his chest. "Just give me the album… get some sleep… and get these Cartel guys off our streets."

"I will." Antonio handed her the album, then kissed her deeply. "You still mad at me?"

Josie shook her head. "No. I love you… that won't ever change. You are the only one I want to spend my life with… I've wanted that since I was 17 years old. I've got it now. I'm not about to let you slip away ever again."

"Good." He turned off the light and pulled her in close. "I don't plan on ever letting you go either."

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 _ **A/N: So, certain parts of this are direct quotes from Season 1, episode 1 of Chicago PD… they solely belong to the writers and producers of the show. I just needed them to add to the basis of this story line. More to come soon. I know it's a different twist, but this is what the muse led me to. We will see what happens… until then! I'm off to update the Rose. Let me know what you all think! Lots of love! Nicole.**_


	12. Brave

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Antonio awoke feeling refreshed. After having cleared the air with Josie, and breaking Mike St. Ange's nose, things were right in the world. He got up, showered and got ready for his day. He went to check on Grace before making breakfast. He smiled at his still sleeping daughter. He wasn't going to wake her. He went and started breakfast. Leaving Josie to sleep in a bit was a gift he felt she strongly deserved, especially since Grace was starting to sleep longer through the night. Soon the smell of eggs, toast and bacon had the kids flocking to the kitchen table.

"Morning." Antonio greeted them. "Okay, so breakfast... then you guys finish getting ready for school. I'll drop you guys off on my way to the District today."

"Sweet!" Diego exclaimed. "I hate riding the bus."

Antonio laughed. "I know. So, eat up, then grab your school stuff. I'll go see if your mom wants breakfast before y'all eat it."

"Hey, Dad?" Zoë asked.

"Yeah?"

"Since when did you pick up Mom's slang?"

Antonio stared at his older daughter.

"You said 'y'all'." Xavier pointed out.

Antonio thought about it. "Oh. Yeah, well... I guess she is rubbing off on me a little bit."

The kids laughed and went back to eating. Antonio made a plate and brought it with him to Josie. He knocked on the door.

"Hmm?" Came a sleepy grumble.

"I brought breakfast." Antonio said.

Josie popped up in the bed. "Breakfast?"

Antonio laughed. "I see where the kids get their attention for food."

Josie glared at him. "Uh, excuse me?"

"Just kidding... yeesh."

Josie stretched. "What time is it?"

"6:15... I'm gonna drive the kids to school today... I texted your dad and let him know I'd be a little late."

"You know you can call him 'Dad' too." Josie pointed out.

"I don't think I'm just there yet, Jo." Antonio placed the tray on her lap. "Don't forget, up until a couple years ago, I was determined to lock him up."

"That's all in the past right?"

Antonio nodded. "Of course... as long as he doesn't break the law."

"That's common sense." Josie took a bite of the eggs. "Mmm. What is your secret with the seasoning on the eggs?"

"Not telling." He grinned. He looked at his watch. "Okay, so I'm gonna check on Grace again... she was still sleeping when I first got up."

"Okay." She smiled. "I'm just going to enjoy this for a little bit."

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After changing Grace's diaper and bringing her to Josie, Antonio headed out with the kids. He dropped them off at school and stopped in at the gym for a quick workout. After a shower, he changed and headed to work. He got to work shortly after 8. Voight wasn't even in yet. Antonio checked his phone and saw that Voight had changed the start of shift because he was meeting with a potential informant. He was now early, so he set about to making coffee.

"Hey, Antonio." Jules came into the staff kitchen.

"Hey, Jules."

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah... uh... dealt with Mike."

"I noticed he wasn't here."

"He's supposed to be headed back to New Orleans... if he isn't, I'm sic'ing Voight on him."

"What happened?" Jules asked, pouring herself of the fresh coffee.

"Turns out, he was obsessed with Josie." He drank his own coffee.

"I thought he was married?"

"Long story."

"We've got time, 'Tonio." Jules pointed to the empty bullpen.

Antonio explained how Josie and Mike had previously been involved and how despite being married he was still wanting her.

"Okay, so the guy's a nutjob." Jules summarized.

Antonio nodded. "Yep. Did your guy in NOPD ever get back to you?"

As if by magic, her phone began to ring. "That must be him." Jules said, dashing for her desk.

Antonio poured himself more coffee and headed to his own desk. He looked over to the desk Josie had claimed as her own before her Maternity Leave. Part of him wished she was here with them. Her creativity and her analytical mind would be helpful in trying to catch Pulpo and making sure the charges stuck. He turned his attention to Jules. He was starting to wish he had the ability to hear what she was hearing, but he knew his partner would tell him everything.

Jules thanked the caller and hung up. "So, you sure he's headed back to New Orleans?"

"I broke the bastard's nose and threatened to have Voight drop him in the bottom of the Lake if he came near Josie or our family ever again."

"I don't think he's going back." Jules sighed. "He's not NOPD anymore. They fired him. That file he brought us, illegally taken. He had no authorization to share it with us."

"Fuck!" Antonio pounded his desk sending his coffee flying to the floor. The mug shattered at Voight's feet as he came up the stairs.

"Antonio... what's with the coffee, bro?" Voight asked.

"The file... that Mike brought?" Jules started to say hesitantly.

"What about it?" Voight stepped over the puddle.

"He didn't have authorization to bring it to us. Turns out he's been kicked off the NOPD force, Sarge." Jules said.

"I beg your pardon?" Voight spun to stare at her.

"He was kicked off the force for violations ranging from excessive force to investigating cases that weren't under his purview."

Voight turned back to his son-in-law, who was cleaning the shattered mug and coffee off the floor. "Josie know this?"

"No, she thinks he's still NOPD... but she does know that he was here mostly to try and get her back... his marriage is over... he moved out two weeks ago, and according the wife, their marriage was over after their youngest was born. He kept tabs on Jo ever since she broke up with him... after he proposed to her." Antonio said.

"What?" Voight wasn't sure he was hearing this right. "He proposed to Josie, and she said no."

"Yeah... and she told him that she couldn't love him the way he loved her. That she would always love me." Antonio put the shattered mug in the trash. "I busted his nose last night... told him to get the hell out of Chicago and stay out."

Voight rubbed his chin. "Put out an alert to make sure he does leave... don't care where he goes, but he damn well get outta Illinois."

Jules nodded and put in the call. Voight pulled Antonio into his office, closing the door behind them.

"Sarge?"

"Antonio, are my daughter and grandkids safe?"

Antonio nodded. "Yeah, Josie won't let anything happen to Grace... I told the schools that only myself, Josie, Dixie or you would be authorized to pick them up other than Gaby or my parents. The kids have also been told not to go with anyone other than us."

Voight nodded. "Good, good." He hung his jacket on the coat rack. "Any news on Pulpo?"

"Not yet, but it's still early." Antonio sighed. "I just want Mike gone for good... I'm worried that he'll try to pull something, especially knowing that we're focused on catching Pulpo."

"Hmm." Voight nodded. "Okay, well... let's get looking into catching Pulpo... We'll deal with St. Ange if he hasn't left yet after."

Antonio headed out of the office to talk to the others as they arrived.

Voight sat at his desk and pulled out his cell phone. He hit his contact list and waited as the phone rang.

"Dad?" Josie asked.

"Hey, Josie... how are you?"

"I'm good." Josie said. "What's wrong? Did something happen to Antonio?"

"No! No! Just checking on you."

"Antonio tell you what happened last night?"

"He did... that Mike should know how lucky he is... that it was Antonio and not me."

"I know, Dad." Josie sighed.

"Did he tell you that he was kicked out of NOPD?" Voight asked.

"What?!" Josie exclaimed. "No!"

"Jules got the information... turns out he stole Rev's file."

"Dad... I swear, if I had known... I wouldn't have brought him there."

"I know. Josie, you're a great cop... I know you wouldn't have. Just... if he contacts you... for whatever reason, you call me or Antonio... we'll deal with him."

"Dad..."

"No, Josie... he's gone off the rails... We will take care of him."

Josie knew that she wouldn't win. "Okay... Just be safe out there... Please."

"Always, Josie... Always." Hank ended the call and joined the team for the briefing. He saw Al coming up the stairs with a kid. He walked over to the stairs to meet them.

"Adam Ruzek." Al started. "This is Sergeant Voight."

Adam stuck out his hand. "Hey, boss. Nice to meet you, sir."

Voight looked to Olinsky. "Ruzek... I know that name."

Adam said. "Yeah, my dad, Bob... was a patrolman his whole career in the 26th."

"You don't say." Voight smiled.

"I pulled him out of the academy, not his old man." Al pitched in.

"What? Did you work with my dad?" Adam was intrigued. His dad was still a patrolman, he couldn't possibly be known by two cops of Voight and Olinsky's standings.

Al and Voight just explained they were on the same softball team. Adam wasn't sure he bought that, but he had only spent part of the time with his dad, the rest was spent with his mom in another part of the city. Voight motioned for them to join Antonio's briefing.

Antonio started. "If D'Anthony was right, and he heard 3 voices in the apartment, Pulpo must have brought two hit men with him from Medellin."

"Alright." Voight said. "Get all of this to Lieutenant Belden in Violent crimes." He paused. "Have we gotten anything from his end?"

Antonio shook his head. "Nothing."

Erin jumped in. "Calls between Rev and Coop yesterday. Only one other number called 'em both. It's a pay-as-you-go drop phone, signal's off, but it was purchased at a cell store in Greektown."

"Take Halstead and go check it out." Voight ordered. He turned to Ruzek. "I want the Canaryville outta you, not the Beverly, huh?"

"You got it, boss." Adam grinned. He was proud to have been pulled from the Academy for this unit. He went around introducing himself to the rest of the team.

Voight pulled Olinsky aside and went to ask him what the plan was.

An hour or so later, Halstead and Lindsay were back with information. Antonio took the picture and ran it through various databases to get an ID. He focused mainly in airport security and Colombian authorities. If he was working with Pulpo, he'd be coming in out of Colombia in the last few weeks.

Jay was the one on the receiving end of the call to confirm the hitman's ID. He went to the board and wrote down the name he'd been given. "Colombian authorities ID'd this guy as Omar Rojas. He's a freelance hitman."

"So, Rev was the boss." Voight began piecing this whole thing together. "Coop moved the merchandise. So, who's next in the chain of command?"

It was Jules' turn to hop in. "Well, that's the problem. Rev was only in town from Baton Rouge for the last year."

"That explains why he fell off NOPD's radar." Antonio pointed out. "Neither of those two cities would suspect him as their common link."

"Well, there was no structure to his crew." Jules continued.

"And nobody's talking?" Voight was getting a little pissed off at this point.

"Nope." Jules sighed.

Voight was getting frustrated. They were no further on this than they were the day before. He looked around for Al, but couldn't see him. "Alright. When Olinsky gets back, you tell..."

Al pushed his desk chair back from his desk. "I'm right here."

Voight asked him directly. "Anything from you CIs?"

"No dice." Al answered. "Something about not wanting to have their heads chopped off."

"Alright... get Rojas' image out there with Pulpo's citywide... all airports, train, bus stations... and keep hitting the bushes." Voight sighed. He sensed someone was behind him. He turned around and saw Belden standing at the top of the stairs. He sighed again and headed to his office.

Belden followed him in and closed the door. The rest of the team watched. Antonio had a bad feeling that Belden was actually keeping things from the team. He knew Belden had wanted this position and was more than pissed off that it was given to Voight. He went about calling some of his CIs from his days in Vice. Someone had to know about this guy. Someone had to have an idea of where he'd be hiding.

By the end of the shift, they were still stuck. Antonio sighed. He knew this was about to go into overtime. He called Josie and asked where they were. Turns out they were over at Holy Trinity to watch Xavier in a game. "I'll meet you there." He said. He wanted to see the kids and his wife at least once before this case really went to hell in a handbasket. He told Jules where he was headed and left. If Voight had a problem with it, he'd have to deal with that later. His family was his main focus right now.

* * *

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The next morning, they were prepping Adam to do a buy. They needed information and they'd finally been able to get some idea of some of the other runners in Rev's crew. Al was basically running point on this. Antonio and the others were checking weapons and vests. Once it was clear, they headed out to where they suspected Rev's runner was, based on previous sightings.

Adam was very convincing and sure enough, they got their guys. Antonio and Jules took the ring leader, Xavier Green, into interrogation to push him for who the next target was.

"I mean, this is the sweetest offer I've ever heard, right?" Antonio said. "You tell us who the Colombians are targeting next, and we won't charge you with distribution. What's the debate?"

"Ain't no debate." Xavier replied. "I just know not to trust a word that comes out of a cop's mouth."

Jules intervened. "We're trying to save someone's life!"

"Y'all worried about my boy? Don't. He's ready. Them Colombians try to make a move on him, it'll be the last move they try and make."

"Mhmm." Jules nodded. She slid the manila folder in front of Xavier.

Antonio flipped it open. Xavier cried out in disgust. "They were ready too." Jules pointed out.

As if by divine intervention, Xavier laid everything out for them. Antonio and Jules left interrogation to fill in the rest of the team.

"We're looking for a Shane Cameron." Antonio announced as he walked back into the bullpen. "Xavier says he's been hiding since yesterday."

"Yeah." Jules added. "But, he has a flop house over on Addison. Might worth checking out."

Voight didn't even hesitate. "Alright, everybody. Vest up."

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They arrived at the address and split up. Antonio and Jules would be going in as point leads. The rest of the team waited outside, waiting on the signal. While they were waiting, Lieutenant Belden and his team rolled up.

Voight went over to Belden. "It's okay, Lieutenant. We've got it covered, we'll let you know if he's upstairs."

"Who?" Belden asked.

"Shane Cameron. I left you a message." Voight said.

"We're following up on the car." Belden replied.

Voight got the feeling that there was something missing in this conversation. He strongly suspected that Belden hadn't been overly forthcoming with the information from his end on what was supposed to be a joint investigation. "What car?"

"Plate match to a black 4-door seen leaving the scene of the Coop murder. Supposed to be parked around her."

"I never got that info." Voight was pissed.

"Yeah." Belden said. "I must have dropped the ball on that."

Realizing the danger that Antonio and Jules were in, Voight pulled his walkie out and shouted. "Terminate! Pull back! Targets may be in the building!"

Jules was already walking to the apartment door when the call came through. Antonio tried to warn her. "Jules!" He hissed.

It was too late. A massive shot echoed in the tiny hallway. Jules collapsed to the ground gasping. The hole left in the door was an obvious result of a shotgun blast. Antonio ran to his partner and pulled her back. He grabbed his radio and screamed. "10-1! Officer Shot!" He cradled Jules in his arms. "Hold on! Hold on, Jules."

Jules tried to say something but couldn't. Antonio kept pressure on the wounds the best he could, but the shotgun blast had done catastrophic damage to her neck and upper torso. He wept as his partner lay bleeding in his arms. "Hang on. You're gonna be alright." He tried to reassure her.

Voight and Erin moved in, clearing bystanders as they went. They got to the top of the stairs. What they saw made Erin cry out. Voight and Erin went into the apartment, but Shane Cameron was already dead. They grabbed Jules and carried her out to Ambo 61 where Shay and Gaby were waiting. They loaded her into the ambulance and Erin hopped in with her. Gaby looked to Antonio. Antonio knew that look. It was one of sadness but relief that it wasn't him getting loaded. Gaby hopped in the back and Shay drove away. Antonio stood there, in shock. He looked at his hands. They were covered in Jules' blood and he couldn't stop shaking. Voight patted his shoulder.

As they looked around the scene, Jay's voice came over the radio. "One offender in custody. We've got Pulpo."

Antonio didn't know what to say or do. He was numb. He followed Hank back to their vehicles. He wanted to go to the hospital, but he needed to confront Pulpo. Voight needed to confront Pulpo, but not before he tore Belden a new one for letting his team walk right into a trap. He knew that Jules' probably wasn't going to make it. The damage to her neck, head and chest was too severe and she'd already lost a lot of blood. Antonio headed inside to wait for Jay and Adam to get Pulpo to the District.

Voight was making his way up the steps when his cell rang. "Yeah."

Erin's voice came over the other end. Her voice breaking. "Jules... she didn't make it."

Hank growled. He clutched his phone. He never thought he'd lose a member of this team because another CPD unit had failed to provide them with the necessary information. He stormed up the steps of the District. He saw Belden. He pointed his finger at him and growled. "You! You played games."

Belden sneered. "Back up, Voight."

Atwater, seeing what was about to go down, jumped in. "Yo! Hey, hey!"

Voight was trying to push past Atwater. "You played games! And you got her killed!"

"Hey! Come on now! Back up!"

"Come on! You wanna play?" Voight was being hauled back by at least 4 patrolmen, including Atwater. "Get off of me!"

"Calm it down!" Platt demanded from the desk.

Atwater tried to calm him down. "Come on, Sarge!"

"Get off of me!" Voight wanted to kill him.

"Voight!" Platt bellowed. "Get him out of here!"

Atwater had to pull hard on Voight to get him out of the area. Belden just walked away. If Atwater hadn't been holding onto Voight for dear life, Voight probably would have killed him.

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Josie was feeling a little bored at home. The girls were at a volleyball game and Diego and Xavier were at Holy Trinity playing football with a couple friends. She went to the office and grabbed her CPD issued radio. She wanted to listen in as Antonio had texted her to tell her they had a possibly location on Pulpo. She found the band, but was wishing she hadn't. Her heart dropped as she heard Antonio scream that there was an officer down. She knew that was Jules. She turned it off and flung the radio across the room. She went to check on Grace. Part of her wanted to race over to the District, to be with Antonio and her team, but the other part knew that she would just be a distraction to everyone there. She lifted Grace from the swing and gently rocked her as she paced the living room. She needed to know Antonio was okay. She dialed the District to see if Platt could connect her to the Intelligence bullpen as Antonio's cell was now going straight to voicemail. The line was busy. This whole thing was off. She decided that she'd have no other choice than collect the boys, and head to the District. She bundled Grace up and got her into the car. She headed to pick up the boys.

 _ **Holy Trinity High School...**_

"Xavier! Over here! I'm open!" Diego was waving from down the field.

Xavier grinned. Diego was really into this game. It had been organized by the coaches at the school to encourage the students to play football with their younger brothers. Xavier had been a little hesitant at first, to ask Diego to come along, but it had been the best choice. A lot of Diego's classmates were also joining their big brothers. Xavier threw the ball in a tight spiral, but Diego was just a tad too short to catch it. It flew over his head and over the fence into the alley. "Diego! Just leave it!" Xavier shouted.

Diego didn't hear his big brother's shouts. He snuck between the fence and into the alley to get the ball.

"Diego!" Xavier shouted. He looked to his classmates. "Go get Coach."

They nodded and headed towards the school. Xavier ran towards the fence where Diego had gone. He couldn't fit through the fence like Diego had. He looked around. "Diego? Just leave it, we have other balls."

"I can get it!" Diego's voice came from behind some dumpsters.

There was some thumping. "Diego?" Xavier pulled himself up the fence to try and see what was going on.

"Hey! Let go of me!" Diego's panicked voice echoed in the alley.

"Diego!" Xavier pulled himself completely over the fence. "Diego!" He shouted. He ran down the alley. He saw a couple of men pulling Diego into a white van. He ran towards them, but had to dive into the trash pile when one of them whipped out a 9mm and opened fire. He heard the screeched of rubber on pavement and watched in horror as the van sped out of the alley. "DIEGO!"

By then, the coach had arrived with some of his teammates and to Xavier's horror, his mother. "Xavier! What's with all the shouting?" The coach asked.

Xavier's lip quivered as he turned to his mother. "Mom..."

"Xavier... what's wrong, sweetheart?" Josie looked around. "Where's Diego?"

"Mom..." His voice cracked. "Someone took... someone took Diego!"

"What?!" Josie looked around. "Diego?"

"Coach, uh... there are bullet holes in the dumpster." One teammate pointed to the dumpster closest to them.

"Call the police..." The coach started.

"No! I'll... I'll call." Josie struggled to get her phone out. She knew that Antonio's phone wouldn't ring, but she did have Al's number. She dialed it. Her hands shook as it rang.

"Olinsky." Al answered.

"Al..." Josie's voice quaked.

"Josie... what's wrong?"

"I... I need to talk to Antonio... please." Josie's voice was barely audible. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. "Please."

"I'll get him... just... hang on." Al said.

 _ **District 21...**_

Antonio knew that Pulpo was being brought to the cage. He rushed down the stairs to the rollout. He wanted to kill him. Pulpo had killed Jules. His partner was gone and this monster was responsible. He saw Jay push Pulpo into the cage. He stormed towards him.

"Antonio!" Pulpo exclaimed. "How are you?"

"Where are they? I want your two hitmen right now!" Antonio demanded.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Pulpo said coyly.

Antonio shoved his bloodied hands in Pulpo's face. "You see that?! That's my partner's blood!" Pulpo spat on Antonio's hands. This sent Antonio into a blind rage. He reached for Pulpo, pushing him back against the wall of the cage.

Jay and Ruzek, seeing that Antonio was going to kill Pulpo jumped in. "Antonio!" They struggled to pull him off of Pulpo. "Antonio! Stop!"

Al came rushing in. "Antonio!"

Jay got Antonio out of the cage. "We need him alive."

Adam was shoving Pulpo down. "You, stay put. Sit down! Sit down! Just... sit!"

Jay locked the cage and watched and Al shoved his cellphone in Antonio's hand. Al said. "Antonio, you gotta take this."

Antonio looked at the phone and put it to his ear. "Yeah."

Josie's sob came over the line. "An... Antonio... Antonio, some... someone's taken Diego... He's gone."

The phone fell and Jay reached out to catch it. "Bro, what... what's going on?"

Antonio's face was filled with horror. He said nothing. He just raced out of the rollout to his car. "Call Voight... tell him to go to Holy Trinity!"

Al pieced together the cryptic message and took his phone from Jay. "Hank... Diego's missing..." He waited for Hank to quit yelling. "Holy Trinity. Josie's there with Xavier and Grace." He ended the call and stalked over to the cage. "If you're behind this... you're gonna wish you'd never come back to Chicago." Al turned to Jay and Adam. "Upstairs. Now. We gotta help find Diego."

* * *

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* * *

Antonio pulled up behind the school where there were a flock of patrolmen and patrol cars. He raced towards the taped off area. An officer tried to stop him, but another told him to let him through. Antonio raced to Josie's side. She was besides herself. She was weeping on Voight's shoulder. Xavier was sitting on a bench with Grace in his arms. "Josie!" He exclaimed.

"Antonio! Antonio!" She wept.

He pulled her into his arms. "Oh God... baby..."

"Diego... our little guy... he has to be so scared."

"I will get him back." Antonio promised.

"I know you will... you have to."

Antonio looked to Voight. "What do we know?"

"There's no cameras in the alley." Voight sighed. "We're checking everywhere else... see if there are ATMs or private security systems."

"Neighbours? Other people? Anyone?"

"Xavier said he saw a white van speed off." Josie whispered.

"Xavier... he... Xavier?" Antonio turned to his oldest son. "Xavier... what did you all see?"

"We were playing football... Diego wanted me to throw him the ball... it went over his head and into the alley... I shouted at him to leave it... that we'd get another ball... but he didn't hear me... he went through the hole in the fence to get the ball. When... When I got here, I couldn't fit. I tried to climb the fence and he said he saw the ball... then there was a thump and I heard him shouting to let him go. I jumped the fence but then the two guys hopped in that white panel van... and one started shooting at me."

Voight handed Antonio an evidence bag. "9mm rounds..."

"Were you hit?" Antonio asked.

Xavier shook his head. "No, Dad... I'm sorry! It's all my fault!"

Voight took Grace from Xavier as she began to fuss.

Antonio pulled Xavier into his arms. "Diego is going to be okay... this is not your fault... okay, you are not to blame."

"Dad... I shouldn't have..."

"Xavier, stop... okay... this isn't your fault... it's related to the case we're working... this is all Pulpo." Antonio looked to Voight. "Do they know?"

"Know what?" Xavier asked.

Josie looked away, tears continued to stream down her face. "Jules?"

Antonio looked to her. "How?"

"I heard it... over the radio... I wanted to know... how... and..."

"Jules is dead?" Xavier asked.

"Yeah... son... she is... the men that... that took Diego..."

"They're going to kill him!" Xavier began to hyperventilate. "No! Dad!"

Josie stepped in, wiping the tears from her face. "That won't happen. Intelligence will get Diego back."

"That's a promise." Voight patted his grandson on the shoulder. "You take your sister and go home with your mom. As soon as we know anything... we'll tell you guys. I promise, we're going to bring Diego home, safe."

As Josie was about to leave with Xavier and Grace, a voice came from down the alley. "Para Josie! Para Josie!"

They turned to see Juan, the delivery man that Josie had interacted with on multiple occasions as she'd taken to having fresh produce delivered since Grace had been born. She nodded to Voight.

"Let him through!" Voight bellowed.

Juan ran towards them waving a paper in the air. He rambled on in a very fast Spanish. Josie wasn't able to make sense of it. Antonio, however, got it. He took the note. "Juan was told to bring this."

"What's it say?" Voight asked.

"Pulpo free by midnight... or your son dies."

Josie gasped. "Antonio... no!"

"I am going to bring him home." Antonio said. "I promise." He grabbed a patrolman. "You make sure my wife, son and daughter get home safely."

"Yes, sir." He said. "Come this way ma'am."

Antonio looked to Voight. "Get someone to pick Eva and Zoë up. I won't have my family be a target anymore."

"Where are you going?"

"To get answers." Antonio growled before running for his car.

Voight groaned. Today was going to be a long day, longer than usual. He would pick up the girls himself. He called Dixie on the way to Eva's school and asked her to meet him at Josie's. He needed to make sure everyone was going to be safe.

Antonio pushed past Jay and headed to where they were holding Pulpo. He pounded on the cage. "Where's my son?"

Pulpo looked under the bench. "Uh, I know he's not here. Beyond that..."

"I don't think you want me to ask you again." Antonio threatened.

"Ah! Si, si ,si... I heard about this type of thing, back in Bogota... Yeah. Your son... he was kidnapped, yes?" Pulpo laughed. "Yes... I read that many time... many, many times... If the kidnappers were given what they wanted, then the wife... or the son... was returned. Not a single scratch on their faces or a hair out of place."

Antonio banged on the cage.

Pulpo smirked. "Maybe you should give 'em what they want, Antonio... whatever that may be. If you want to see Diego again, that is."

Antonio pounded the cage again. He didn't have words. He had emotions coursing through his veins; rage, fear, and sadness, just to describe a few. He headed upstairs to the bullpen. He prayed that the team had made some progress into who had taken his son.

Voight was standing at the whiteboard. "They took Antonio's son... my grandson... Nothing... I mean, nothing else matters until we get Diego back. Nothing."

Antonio was pacing the room. He couldn't just stand still while they tried to figure this out.

"Sarge..." Jay started. "So... this all started with Rev and Coop getting their heads chopped off. Both did essentially the same job for Pulpo... mid-level distribution, right? So, we know that Pulpo's cleaning house. And what do you do when you get rid of old furniture? You bring in something new." Jay pulled a picture from the top of the pile on his desk. "This guy stood out. It's Ernesto Milpas. He was running 15 corners between 22nd and Kedzie when CPD pinched him in '09."

"Yeah, yeah... I was on that bust... with Jules." Antonio recognized him immediately.

Jay said. "He was released last year."

Antonio took the picture. "He was a climber."

"Maybe he's looking to get promoted." Erin suggested.

Jay shrugged. "He's the best of a lot of bad options."

"What do we have on him now?" Voight asked.

Jay answered. "PO's got an address that's a year old."

"Let's hit it." Voight ordered.

* * *

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* * *

They were set up outside an abandoned warehouse. Olinsky and Ruzek were UC trying to get eyes on Ernesto. Antonio was sitting with Voight, in Voight's Durango while Halstead and Lindsay were in her Chrysler 300. There was little to no movement. That was, until Ruzek just took off after him. Antonio was livid. The whole team chased him, but he was nowhere to be found. He had caught Erin from behind and hit her.

Voight was checking in on Erin, who was gingerly rubbing her head. "Hey. You okay, kid?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm an idiot, but I'm fine."

"Hey, it wasn't your fault." Voight tried to reassure her. "Trust me."

Antonio came running down the path from the warehouse. "No sign of Diego or that he was ever here!" He shouted. He got up into Ruzek's face. "We had him! What the fuck was that?!

"Hey! I made a move!" Adam attempted to defend himself.

Voight tried to calm his son-in-law. "Hey, take it easy."

"A stupid one!" Antonio went to take a swing at Adam, but Jay stopped him.

"Take it easy, bro." Jay was trying to keep Antonio from ripping Adam's jugular out. He succeeded, but Antonio's attention quickly turned to Erin.

"Let's not forget who let herself get jumped!" Antonio lunged at her.

Erin didn't need anyone's help. "Hey! I..."

Voight cut her off and pulled Antonio away. Suddenly their radios were squawking. "Detective Dawson? This is Burgess. You're gonna wanna see this."

Voight looked to his team. "Let's go. Come on."

Antonio raced into a small room where there was a laptop. "Tell me you have something."

Burgess hit play on the laptop. It was a video. The second kidnapper spoke to Diego in Spanish. Antonio's hand clenched into a tight fish hearing the threat.

"Translation?" Voight asked. He was starting to wish he'd tried to learn some of it.

Erin whispered. "Scream, and we cut out your tongue."

They ripped the duct tape from Diego's mouth. "Daddy! They say they're gonna kill me, Daddy!"

They covered his mouth again and the video was done. Antonio was livid. He wanted to bring his son home. Diego only called him 'Daddy' when he was scared. Antonio heard it in his voice. Diego was terrified.

Jay pointed at the screen. "Check out the paneled wall. That's not here."

Antonio felt defeated. Diego had never been here. They were no closer than they had been after discovering Ernesto's identity. He turned and walked away. The rest of the team followed in his footsteps. Hank felt his pain. Diego was his grandson now. This was personal and they would get him back.

Upon arriving back at the District, Antonio cornered Voight in his office. "I know this goes against everything we stand for. We should consider making the deal. Give them Pulpo for Diego."

Hank looked up. "Antonio."

"He's my son, Voight! Let's make the trade." Antonio pleaded.

"Trades don't work out. No one above would okay it." Voight tried to reason with him but it wasn't working.

"Tell me which one of those excuses I'm supposed to believe. Which one do I tell your daughter and grandchildren? Huh? Which one am I supposed to tell?"

"We still have time." Voight sighed. "I will help you get him back, Antonio... but do you really want to put Jules' killed back on the streets... so more blood can be shed?"

"No!" Antonio pounded the desk. "But I won't lose my son either!"

"Let's go through CI files... maybe there's someone we can use." Voight proposed. "Before we go to extreme measure like letting the monster loose on the streets of Chicago."

* * *

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* * *

Jin was handing out files and trying to explain his organizational system. Sadly, no one was listening to him and Voight distracted him by inquiring about the video of Diego.

He took note of what Jin said and called Erin and Jay over. "In case we're gonna consider a trade, I want you to check out these locations. Sight lines, sniper spots, the works."

"Are you considering negotiating?" Jay wondered.

"Just... go... check it out. Please." Voight asked.

It was the first time that Voight had said please to Jay. "Okay." He grabbed a sketch pad and his coat.

Erin grabbed the paper with locations from Hank and together they headed out to the first locations.

Voight got pulled into a corner by Al. While they were whispering about Ruzek's future, Adam went to talk to Antonio. "Hey, listen... Antonio, I wanna apologize."

Antonio looked up from the CI folder he had in his hands. "Save it for when we get Diego back."

Adam nodded. "Sure... uh, so what's your secret, man?"

"To?"

"Keeping so many CIs?" Adam pointed to the pile of over two dozen folders that were in Antonio's CI pile.

"Never make them testify, and you never lie to them." Antonio replied, going through another file.

Al joined them. "Sometimes, you gotta be willing to toss a case to protect an informant."

Antonio opened the file. It was Jasmine. "'Cause sometimes, when you really need someone, they're still there for you."

Adam looked at the folder. "Hooker?"

"Yeah... when we busted Ernesto... she was one of the ones there... she may..." He grabbed his cell and texted her. "I'll be back." He took off out the room.

Jin looked to Al and Adam. "Files aren't about to put themselves away."

Al snickered. He patted Adam on the back. "It's a good lesson to learn." Al and Hank headed upstairs to Hank's office, leaving Adam to put at least 60 files in proper order.

Adam sighed. "Being the rookie sucks."

* * *

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* * *

Antonio ran down the steps into the station. He watched for Jasmine. She got off the 'L' and made her way over to him.

"Detective Dawson. I was surprised to see your text."

"Hey, thanks for hitting me back." Antonio's anxiety was getting the best of him.

"Hey, what's... what's wrong?" Jasmine could tell something was off.

Antonio tried to avoid the question. "The usual... listen... You remember Ernesto? He got caught in that bust in that house on 26th and Sawyer? You were working there at the time."

"Yeah, yeah... I remember." Jasmine nodded. "He had a thing for curly-haired brunettes."

"Well, he's back on the streets. I need to know if he's ordered any girls in the last couple of weeks... but I also really need to know where he's flopping." Antonio's voice cracked. He was losing his grip.

"I can call around."

"Would you?" Antonio said.

"Yeah, of course." She looked around. "Can you... you know..."

"Sure." Antonio pulled some bills from his pocket and placed them in her hand. "I need this fast."

"Okay, yeah... I got it." Jasmine snipped. She saw pain in his eyes. "Hey, you okay?"

Antonio shook his head and sniffled. "This Ernesto... my eight-year-old son is missing and he's involved. So, it's important. My wife and kids... they're depending on me to bring him home."

"Oh my God. Antonio... I'm so sorry. Hey, listen... I'll call around."

"Thank you, Jasmine." Antonio cracked a smile.

"Hey, my real name's Victoria... by the way."

"I know." Antonio said before heading back up the stairs.

* * *

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* * *

It didn't take long that Jasmine came back with an answer. She met Antonio outside the District and told him what she knew. Antonio thanked her and headed back to tell Voight. "Polk Hotel... on West Adams."

Voight nodded. He got up and barked into the bullpen. "Rollout!"

Antonio ran up to the bulletproof glass window that separated the clerk from the guests. He tapped on it. "Hey. Where's this guy's room?" He held up his badge and cellphone with a picture of Ernesto on it.

The clerk pointed to an empty hook that had a room number above it. Antonio nodded and led the team up the stairs. They busted down the door. Antonio took point and began to clear the place. He saw the chair in which Diego had been tied up and he recognized the paneling on the wall. Then he saw it. Diego's jacket, the one he'd been wearing according to Josie. "He was here!"

They left the room to see if there was anyone else in the area that had seen him. Antonio looked down to the far end of the hallway and he saw Ernesto round the corner. Ernesto froze, dropped the bag he had been carrying and ran back down the stairs. Antonio took off after him. He didn't even run down the stairs, he jumped down entire flights. Ernesto had a slight margin in front of him. Antonio pulled all the energy and strength he had left and tackled Ernesto as he tried to run out the door. Ernesto's gun fired as the two of them fought for it. Antonio knocked it out of his hand and pinned Ernesto the ground. "Where's my son?!" Antonio growled.

Voight, Jay and Erin came up behind them. Voight chased a dumpster diver from the scene. He knelt next to Antonio. "He knows, Antonio." He flipped open his switchblade. "Do what you gotta do. Do it."

Antonio knew that Voight wanted him to go to the extreme to get Ernesto to talk. Antonio took the blade and placed it close to Ernesto's face. "Where the fuck is my son?!"

Ernesto continued to fight against Antonio's strong, rage filled grip. "Abogado!"

"No!" Antonio barked. "Ain't no lawyers around here, ese."

Ernesto groaned. They could hear the sirens getting closer. Voight leaned in. "You got about 3 minutes before this alley's filled with uniforms. Do. What. You. Gotta. Do." Voight put emphasis on the last sentence.

Antonio shoved the blade right to his eye. "I'll start with an eye. Come on! Where's my son!?" He was trying to be like his father-in-law, but he couldn't. He tossed the switchblade aside and he flipped Ernesto onto his stomach. "You're under arrest." Antonio yanked him up and handed him to officers.

Voight bent down and picked up his knife. "Let's go."

Antonio nodded. While having Ernesto in custody meant they would be able to get answers, he didn't feel even the tiniest bit better. He sulked next to Voight on the way back to the District. He could sense that Voight was disappointed in him. "Look, Hank... I'm..."

"I know, Antonio... I know. We'll get answers... just differently than how I'd do it." Hank said. "Just know, I'll do whatever it takes to bring Diego back."

"I know... thank you."

* * *

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* * *

Interrogating Ernesto had gotten them nowhere. Antonio had almost busted his fist pounding on the table. The only word that had come out of Ernesto's mouth had been 'Abogado'. Finally, Antonio and Voight gave up. Voight had Ernesto sent down to the cage to mull over his options. Meanwhile, Antonio was freaking out. They had little time left to get Diego back. He went to County lockup to confront Pulpo. That only ended in disappointment when Belden interrupted him. Antonio went back to the 21st. He sat at his desk and allowed the rage to come out. He slammed his hands down on the desk and sent a piles of papers and other objects flying. He was lost. How was he going to explain this to Josie, or the kids?

"He's up here." Burgess' voice echoed up the stairs leading to Intelligence's bullpen.

Antonio looked and saw as Josie, Gaby and the kids were being led up into Intelligence by Burgess and Atwater.

The girls ran to Antonio. "Dad!" They exclaimed.

"Hey." He hugged them tightly, then motioned for Xavier to join in the group hug.

Gaby asked. "Hey, how you holdin' up?"

"Not even thinking about that right now." He held his children tighter. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We couldn't stay at home another minute." Eva said. "We couldn't."

Josie moved Grace to her other hip. "What do you know? Anything?"

Antonio looked to Burgess and Atwater. "Can you guys take the kids and Gabriela somewhere comfortable. Get them anything they need."

Atwater nodded. Zoë took Grace from Josie and the kids followed Atwater and Burgess. Gaby wanted to stay. She wanted to help find her nephew.

"Gaby, go with them." Antonio pleaded. "They need someone they know and trust there."

Gaby sighed. "Okay... Just... keep me in the loop, please?"

Antonio nodded. After Gaby was out of ear shot, Antonio looked to Josie. "Let's talk." He took her hand and led her to the locker room. He locked the door behind them. He sat on a bench.

Josie sat across from him. "Antonio... talk to me... what's going on?"

"We know who has him... more or less."

"It's tied to Pulpo isn't it?"

Antonio nodded. "Yeah... we've... we've got one of his henchmen... but he ain't talking... he wants a lawyer."

"Dad has him in the cage, doesn't he?" Josie asked.

Antonio sighed. "Yeah... look... Voight... he's got different ideas on getting the information we need... but I... I can't go dark side like that."

Josie sighed. "Antonio, I've known you for almost half my life. You are an amazing father. The kids adore you. They see how important rules and stuff mean to you and why they're important. As your wife, I love that. I love that you're teaching them how to be great people in our society. As their mother, on the other hand... I want you to do whatever it takes to bring him home."

"Jo... do you understand that 'whatever' means..."

"Oh, I know my dad's history... I've heard the rumours... I don't care. You bring Diego home. Please." Josie may not have been Diego's biological mother, but he was her son and right now she was hurting. "Please... Antonio, I'm begging you. Eva and Zoë are falling apart right now, Xavier feels guilty and I don't know how to comfort them."

"Okay... Okay, baby... I'll... We'll do it his way." Antonio put his head on her shoulder and wept.

Josie held him tightly and wept with him. "Go... I'll go check on the kids." She sniffled.

"I love you, Jo... I will bring him home."

"I love you too." She kissed him. "Now, go."

Antonio nodded and wiped his eyes. He regained his composure and headed to Voight's office. Josie sat and tried to calm herself. She said a silent prayer before wiping her tears away and going to check on Gaby and the kids.

 _ **Meanwhile...**_

Atwater placed a variety of snacks and beverages on the table. "Here you go, guys."

The kids looked to Gaby, who nodded. They hadn't eaten anything since Diego had gone missing. They each took a snack. Gaby took Grace so Zoë could eat something. She looked to Kim and Kevin. "Any news yet?"

"Just the same as before." Kim sighed. "We're all working on it. Commander Perry has every available Patrolman out there looking for him."

Eva sniffled. "The last thing I told Diego was that he was annoying."

Zoë rubbed Eva's back. "Eva..."

Atwater jumped in. "What was he doing?"

"Shooting me with his Nerf gun." Eva wiped the tears away. "I told him to leave me alone and to go bug someone else."

Atwater knelt next to her. "We're gonna bring him home and he'll be able to annoy you and Zoë and Xavier for years to come."

"We promise." Kim added.

Gaby felt for them. She just prayed that Antonio would let go of his values and listen to his father-in-law in how to break their suspect.

* * *

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* * *

Antonio rushed into Voight's office, slightly out of breath. "Let's do it your way."

Voight looked up at him. "You sure."

"Look, I'm not that kinda cop... but my wife and kids are hurting... Diego's missing... I'm done playing nice."

"Let's go." Voight got up. He told Erin to make sure no one went to the rollout. He looked to Jay. "You make sure Josie and the kids get home safe. Al, you and Ruzek keep an eye on the house. Once we have the information, we'll call you in."

They all nodded. Antonio and Voight headed to the rollout.

Voight went first. He yanked Ernesto from the cage and cuffed him to the exterior of the cage, arms above his head, as Antonio as requested. "You got a big problema, ese."

Ernesto kept up with his pretence. "Abogado."

"No comprende abogado down here, bro." He slapped Ernesto hard. "See... Diego... isn't just Antonio's son... Antonio's my son-in-law... Diego is my grandson... but, I'm letting Antonio get the information... as his right as a father."

Antonio came down the stairs. He took off his jacket and hung by the rollup doors. He took a chain from the hook and wrapped it around his right fist. He patted it.

Ernesto's eyes bulged as he came to the realization of what was about to happen to him.

Voight smirked. "Yeah... uh oh."

"Espero." Ernesto pleaded. "Wait, wait, wait."

"Oh!" Voight feigned shock. "You speak English after all!"

"No! I... I didn't do anything!" Ernesto continued to protest. "No! No! No! No! No! No!"

"You know... Antonio... he was gonna fight in the Olympics."

Ernesto was sobbing. "I didn't hurt him! Please! No!"

Antonio ignored the sobs and pleas. He delivered a powerful right upper cut to Ernesto's ribs. They could hear the ribs crack under the chains.

"Ah!" Ernesto screamed. "No! No!"

"Oh! Yeah!" Voight got in Ernesto's voice. "He's still got a hell of a right!"

Antonio hit him again. More ribs gave way. Ernesto continued to cry. Antonio didn't care. He hit him a third time. "My partner is dead because of you... and now my son? No..." He pulled his fist back and lined it up with Ernesto's face. "You don't go after my family to get to me."

"Wait! Wait!" Ernesto screeched. "Please! His name is Mateo. His name is Mateo... Please!"

Antonio and Voight exchanged glances.

"I have his cell number! Please! Mateo has your young son!"

Antonio tossed the chain to the ground and grabbed the cell Ernesto had had on him when they arrested him. "Number. Now."

Ernesto rattled off the number. Antonio dialed it and held the phone up on speaker. Voight recorded the conversation. Antonio smacked Ernesto one last time before dashing up the stairs to get the recording to Jin.

Voight undid the cuffs and let Ernesto collapse to the ground. "You're lucky... if it had been me... you'd be at the bottom of the River..." He called in Atwater would put Ernesto back into the cage and went back upstairs to call the rest of the team in.

After listening to the recording, they determined that Mateo was on the run, but they didn't know if he still had Diego with him. They had to assume that he did. Jin pinged Mateo's phone to centre of Chicago's downtown.

Voight looked to his team. "I want men deployed to all major transportation routes out of the city. Midway... O'Hare... bus stations, train stations... Include the expressways!"

A ping came up on the computer. "He's at Union Station!" Antonio shouted.

They vested up and headed to the bus depot. They spread out. Antonio and Voight had the tech to trace the location of the cell, but it came up bust. Mateo had dumped his cell in a trash can.

"Everyone, fan out!" Voight ordered over the radios. "He's here somewhere."

Erin was outside when she caught a glimpse of Diego. She pulled out her radio. "I see him... boarding a bus to Indianapolis."

"Wait for us." Voight said. "We're coming to you."

She couldn't wait. The bus was on its final boarding call. She took a chance. She flashed her badge to the driver, who nodded. She headed passed Mateo and Diego and sat behind them. She sent Voight a text that she was on the bus.

Voight's phone pinged. He looked at the text. He read it off. Antonio grabbed his badge and ran to the information desk. "CPD. Where's the manager office?"

It didn't take long for them to reach a consensus on what had to be done. Adam and Al donned Mid-America bus line uniforms and took a bus out to act as a 'replacement' for the 'broken down' bus that Diego was on. They explained the plan to the driver, who was being extremely cooperative. Antonio and Voight headed out. They set up to act as eyes and back up. Jay placed himself in position as a sniper. The backup bus showed up. Al started the process of getting the bystanders out of harm's way.

"Do you have the shot?" Voight asked Jay.

"Negative." Jay groaned. "He's keeping Diego close."

Antonio clenched his teeth. "Damn it." He kept the binoculars up. Then he saw everything fall to pieces. Mateo must have figured out that Lindsay was a cop. He grabbed Diego around his neck and held a gun to his head. "Diego!" Antonio dropped the binoculars and ran towards the bus.

Erin was shouting at Mateo. Adam, seeing the scene unfold, came up with a plan. He hopped in the other bus and radioed Erin. "Erin! Hang on!"

Erin caught his drift and braced herself. Adam floored the bus and rear ended the other one. Mateo lost his balance, losing his grip on Diego. Erin grabbed him and pushed him behind the seat as Mateo opened fire. There were two more shots that came from behind her. She spun around to see Antonio with his gun raised. "Antonio! I got him! I got Diego."

Antonio saw that Diego was safe. He holstered his weapon and grabbed his son, pulling him into a suffocating embrace. "Diego!"

"Daddy!" Diego cried out. "Daddy!"

"Oh! Diego!" Antonio kissed the top of his head. "You were so brave! You were brave, buddy... so brave." He looked to Erin. "Thank you."

She nodded.

Antonio led Diego off the bus to the waiting patrol car. Atwater and Burgess were there to take them home. Antonio didn't let go of his son. He was so relieved.

Voight watched as they left. He would deal with the scene. He'd go there to be with his family later. For now, they needed their time together. He went to Erin to make sure she was okay.

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"Sorry about the smell." Atwater said to Antonio.

Antonio laughed and patted his shoulder. "I don't mind a bit."

They pulled up in front of the house. Josie and the kids came running. "Diego? Diego!"

Diego ran out of the car to them. "Mom! Eva! Zoë! Xavier!"

Antonio thanked Burgess and Atwater and went to hug his family.

"Oh my God!" Was the general consensus. They didn't let go of the group hug for a good amount of time.

Xavier knelt down next to Diego. "Buddy, I'm so sorry."

"I thought I'd never see you again!" Eva wept.

"I'm okay... Dad and them... they saved me..." Diego turned to Antonio and hugged him tightly. "I knew you'd come for me."

"Always." Antonio smiled, tears in his eyes. "I will always come for any of you. Come on, let's go inside."

After the kids were calmed down enough, they got them settled in bed. Josie sighed as she and Antonio headed for bed. "How bad?"

"Well... I shot the guy who had him... the other one... has a few busted ribs."

"I'm sorry... Antonio... I..."

"No, Jo. You were right. I had to do it. We have him home. All of our kids are safe... I should've listened to Hank sooner."

"Antonio... you're your own cop... You're not Hank Voight."

Antonio pulled her close. "We're safe... I'm definitely going to need time off."

"What about Jules' service?"

Antonio hadn't thought about that. "I... I don't know... I guess we'll know more once the Department decides."

"I'm going in uniform." Josie said. "She was my partner too."

"Jo... the..."

"I'm Intelligence... maybe on Mat leave, but I'm still a cop... I'm going... I will be in uniform and that's it."

Antonio knew he wasn't going to win. "Okay." He turned off the lights and held her tightly.

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A week later, Antonio and the rest of the team were gathered at the CPD memorial in their dress blues. The bagpipes sent chills down their spines. Josie had to fight to hold the tears back that threatened to flow as Alec was handed the folded flag and the 21-gun salute was fired. She stood at attention next to Antonio. He wanted to break ceremony and hold her, but he couldn't. After the ceremony, Alec took the kids home. Antonio told him that if he ever needed anything to call. Alec thanked them both and left. Voight asked them all to join him back at District 21. Josie asked Dixie to take the kids home. She was strongly considering going back to work. She knew that Antonio and Voight would probably have an issue with her going back to work so soon, especially after all of the emotional trauma she'd been through in the last 4 months, but she wasn't going to stay home for another 8 months when she knew she could help the team.

They met in the roll-up. Voight looked to them. "I've been given the go-ahead to run Intelligence the way I want to run it. No interference. This is our unit now." They nodded. "You do things my way... our way... and you'll unclip your badge at night knowing you did what's best for Chicago." He pointed to all of them. "The police standing next to you are your family. To me... there's nothing more important. So, if you're in... stand here with me."

"We're in." Josie stepped forward, Antonio right next to her.

"I'm in." Erin and Jay followed suit.

"I'm in." Adam said.

Al looked to Hank. "You don't have to ask. I'll always be here."

Hank nodded. "Then, let's take a little bit of time to digest everything that's happened. I'll see you all on Monday."

The others slowly left, but Antonio and Josie stayed behind. "Dad?" Josie asked.

"Yeah?" Hank sighed. He was exhausted. He hated burying cops, but he hated burying members of his team even more. "How's Diego?"

"He's doing okay... It'll take time, but he's going to be okay." Antonio nodded. "They all are."

"Thank God, Grace is too little to understand any of this." Josie said. "So, um... I know that you're down a team member. I know... you and Antonio will probably disagree with me... but I want to come back."

Antonio and Voight really couldn't hide their surprise. "Jo!" Antonio exclaimed. "Baby, it's only been four months since Grace was born."

"I'm with Antonio here. Don't you want more time at home?" Voight asked.

"Dad, Grace stopped nursing of her own accord... and I'm going crazy at home doing nothing. I've talked to Mama... she and Mami will take turns watching Grace and picking the kids up after school." Josie looked them both in the eye. "I love being a mom, but I'm a cop too... and that ceremony... it just reinforced that."

"Jo, I can't risk losing you to the job." Antonio said. "You can take the full year."

"Antonio." Voight said. "She has the same look Dixie gets when her mind is made up."

Josie nodded. "Damn straight. If you guys won't back me, I'll go to Commander Perry."

Antonio sighed. "Jo, are you sure?"

"Yes. Antonio, I am more sure now than ever of my choice to be a cop. I want to help take the scum off the street and make sure they stay off. I don't want a repeat of Pulpo."

They couldn't argue with that. Voight sighed. "Okay, I'll make sure Platt puts you back on Active Duty. If you need more time, you just let me know, and you'll get it."

"Thanks, Dad." She kissed his cheek. "Now, Mama is hosting dinner tonight... something about fried chicken."

"I'll see you all there." Hank smiled. "Antonio." He extended his hand.

"Hank." Antonio shook his hand. "Uh, just... thank you."

Antonio and Josie left. Hank watched as they walked off. He had to go deal with Gradishar and then he would go and spend time with his family. Chicago was going to have to get ready for the real Intelligence Unit. The criminals didn't stand a chance. He sighed and went to change. Now, if he could only get IA off his back.

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 _ **A/N: Well, there you have it. Another chapter. Certain parts come directly from Season 1, Episode 1 and Episode 2. All rights for that dialogue belong to Dick Wolf and the One Chicago writers. Lots more to come. A side note, yes, I know Josie probably could've stayed home, but just wait and see what happens next. Let me know what y'all think! Lots of love! Nicole**_


	13. Everything Has Changed

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Josie was anxious. It had been a week since Jules had been killed. A week since Diego had been taken. A week… since she had decided to go back to working in Intelligence. She was getting ready when Antonio reappeared in their bedroom with Grace.

"Hi, Mommy." He said, waving her tiny hand towards Josie.

"Hi, baby." She went and took Grace from Antonio. "Hi." She kissed Grace's chubby cheeks. "You be a good girl for Mimi today?"

Grace just looked up at her mother, cooing and blowing bubbles.

"I think that means she will." Antonio leaned over and kissed her cheek. "You ready?"

Josie sighed. "Honestly… not really… but, the team needs me."

"Jo, if you want more time for Mat leave, Voight'll give it to you."

"I know that, Antonio." She kissed Grace's cheek again. "I know he would. I know he wants to, but we need to both be out there. Both of us can keep our family safe."

"Babe, are you sure you wanna come back?" Antonio handed her Grace. "You sure you don't want to be home with Grace a little longer?"

Josie looked at their infant daughter in her arms. "I do want to, but… Antonio… I don't really trust the others to have your back like Jules did."

"Jay is a great cop… I vouched for him."

"Yeah… well… I would feel better if I was there to watch your back." Josie kissed him.

"I'm not going to win, am I?"

Josie shook her head. "Nope. Come on, let's get the kids to school and Mama should be here soon to watch over this little munchkin."

"I just…" Antonio stopped her from leaving the bedroom. "I'm worried about us both running into the line of fire on the job. I don't want our kids to lose one or both of us. Look at Alec… he's raising those two little ones alone now…"

"Antonio." Josie sighed. "I won't let anything happen to either of us… We both knew the risks of this job a long time ago… when you were the only one who was a cop… when we first found out about Xavier and Zoë."

"Jo…"

"Antonio… it's true. I knew what it meant for you to be a cop 15 years ago… before I even thought about being a cop… I knew the risks. They haven't changed. If anything, they've gotten worse. I can't risk losing you again. Those 15 years were hell… not just for me… not just for the kids… for all of us. We lost each other, not by our own choosing… but I won't let our family go through that again. None of these kids… not one of them, needs to live that ever."

"Okay. Okay. You have a good point." He kissed her. "I love you, Josie Dawson… I always have and I always will."

"As do I… now let's go… or else the kids will be late for school, and I really don't like dealing with the headmaster there." Josie groaned. "That man could give Hitler a run for his money."

"Oh, don't remind me… I really dread having 3 kids there next year."

Antonio let Josie go first. They were just getting into the kitchen when the doorbell rang. Eva ran to get the door. "Mimi!" She exclaimed.

"Right on time." Josie whispered. "Mama! We're in the kitchen."

Antonio was putting Grace in her bouncy chair while Josie worked on getting coffee in their to-go mugs. Dixie came into the kitchen like a whirlwind.

"There you are!" She went straight to Grace. "Oh! You, my chubby little angel, and I are going to have so much fun while Mama and Daddy are at work, aren't we?"

Grace just blew bubbles towards her grandmother. Dixie turned back to face Antonio and Josie. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, Mama." Josie went to hug her mother. "We're fine. Just had a hard time getting ready to go. Uh, we're gonna be late for the kids to get to school if we don't leave right now."

"Go. Go." Dixie made a shooing motion with her hands. "I've got this one. We'll be fine."

Antonio hugged his mother-in-law. "Thanks, again."

Dixie took his arm. "Keep them safe… Josie… and Hank…"

"Always." Antonio nodded. "Hey, everything okay between you two?"

"Yeah… Hank's just been acting a little odd lately." Dixie smiled. "I'm sure it's just the stress of the job."

Antonio kissed her cheek. "Let us know if you need anything."

"Will do." She went to Grace and took her tiny hand. "Bye Mama! Bye Daddy!"

Grace giggled at the motion. Josie and Antonio kissed Grace goodbye and went to join the kids in the car.

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"Josie!?" Erin exclaimed as Antonio and Josie made their way up the stairs into the Intelligence bullpen. She rushed over and hugged Josie. "What are you doing here? Where's Gracie?"

"I'm back on the job, effective today." Josie smiled. "And Grace is at home with my mother."

"You're seriously coming back? After, what… four months?"

"It's been five." Antonio said before Josie could correct her. "Don't try to dissuade her. I've tried. Voight tried. Everyone's tried. We all lost."

"Wow." Erin was in shock. She had always thought that Josie would've taken the full year off. "Well, welcome back."

"Thanks. It… It feels good to be back." Josie grinned. "So, any big cases today?"

"Not yet." Jay answered as he came from the small kitchen. "I hear right? You're back?"

"Yep." Josie said. "But, it would seem, I'll be twiddling my thumbs today."

"Maybe that's a good way to get back into work?" Antonio leaned over and whispered.

Josie just glared at him. "Uh, where's the boss?" She pointed to Hank's office. The light was off and the door was still closed.

Erin and Jay shrugged. "No clue."

Antonio pointed to Josie's bag. "You can put that down, ya know."

Josie went to put it at her desk. Antonio stopped her. "What?"

"Um… if anyone should have Jules' desk… it's you." Antonio whispered. He had snapped at Ruzek when he had tried to take it. "She would've wanted that."

"Antonio." Josie whispered back. "I can still use the other desk. It's fine."

"No." He took her bag and put it down. "This is your desk now." He kissed her. "I'm gonna go find the boss."

Josie settled down in her new desk and logged in to the computer. She needed to see if there was new policy that had been implemented in the time she'd been off. She was busy going through a huge pile of unchecked emails when the other members of Intelligence slowly began to roll in. Al greeted her with a hug and told her how he was happy that she was back. Her father eventually came in. At first, he was pissed off about something, but that was before he saw Josie. He walked over to her desk and pulled her into a tight hug. "Hi, Dad." She smiled.

"Hi." He kissed her cheek. "You, uh… getting settled in okay?"

Josie nodded. "Yeah… so… do I call you Dad… Voight… boss?"

"Whatever you want." He smiled. "Uh, I gotta go through some things in my office… we may still catch a case today."

"That would be nice." Josie laughed. "I don't really want to spend my first day back just going through paperwork."

A younger man came up the stairs and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Josie. "Uh? Who the hell is sitting in Jules' desk?"

"My wife." Antonio came out of the hallway next to where he was standing.

Adam Ruzek jumped. "Uh… am I missing something?"

Olinsky smacked him outside the head. "He said it. That's his wife."

"Yeah… but why?" Adam rubbed his head. "Ow, Al… that hurt."

Josie stood up. "Josie Dawson, Detective… in Intelligence."

Adam, not exactly dropping the subject, asked. "Since when?"

"Since before you were, pip squeak." Josie laughed. "Didn't you guys fill him in?"

Antonio laughed. "Uh, no… we kinda were too busy with Pulpo's bullshit."

"Will anyone fill me in?" Adam was extremely confused.

"Yeah. I will." Hank came out of his office. "Josie is Antonio's wife… a detective in this unit and… my daughter."

Adam's jaw dropped and his eyes bulged. "Uh…"

"Call me Jo… and I just got back from Mat leave… been gone 5 months but I've been a detective for close to a decade… who are you?"

"Adam Ruzek… I… Uh…"

"I pulled him from the Academy… to help with Pulpo." Al finished. "Hank, you got a case?"

"Yeah… if everyone's done." Hank leaned against the doorframe of office.

"Yeah… yeah… boss." Adam managed to mutter. He was still wrapping his head around all this new information.

"Okay… so Narcotics has this house down as a drug den. They can't seem to get close enough for them to make a break in the case… so they're calling us in." Hank said. "Al, you and Adam go UC and get an eye on the house. We'll see if we can't make a move."

"Got it." Al grabbed Adam and they headed to the locker room to change.

"The rest of us… we're gonna do surveillance, and check to see what we can find. 'Tonio, you and Jo will be with me."

"Got it, boss." Antonio nodded.

They grabbed their gear and headed out.

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Adam and Al were posing as construction workers. Antonio felt odd having Josie with him in Voight's SUV doing this surveillance. He knew he'd have to get used to it, but for now, it was still foreign territory.

"Anything?" Voight asked over the comms.

"Nothing yet, boss." Adam's voice answered.

"Wait… someone's going up to the house." Erin chimed in.

Antonio lifted the binoculars. "What is this bozo doing?"

"No clue." Al's voice came through. "I… wait… he's got a gun."

"Move!" Hank ordered.

In a matter of seconds there was a sea of bullets flying everywhere. Al and Adam breached the house, with the other right on their heels. One offender had killed the other and Adam had taken the other one out. Antonio called for an ambulance. Once the medics had taken him away, the team set about tearing apart the house to find the drugs Narcotics claimed were here. Erin, Antonio and Jo were in the kitchen. Adam was being talked to by Hank and Al concerning the fact that this was his first shooting as a cop.

"Hey, guys?" Erin called out. "Check this out."

Antonio and Jo walked over to her. Jo looked in her hand. "What is that?"

"Cop killers." Erin said holding up one of the most dangerous bullets out there.

Jo looked in the box. "Jesus Christ. Look at all these!"

Antonio whistled. "There's enough here to wage war on the whole CPD."

By this point, Voight had joined them in the kitchen. "There's no drugs."

"Nope, but look at all these." Erin motioned to the numerous boxes of bullets. "Haven't these been used in multiple shootings recently?"

Hank nodded. "Yeah… but we had no idea where they were coming from."

Jo grabbed a black garbage bag from the floor. "Hey, check this out." She pulled a small white and red box from the bag.

Antonio took it from her. "Insulin? Someone a diabetic?"

Jo dumped the contents of the bag out onto the floor. "I doubt it."

The whole bag had been filled with empty insulin boxes, hundreds of them. There was no way that they were filled with insulin that was being used for one person.

"Is there a black market for this stuff?" Erin asked.

"Not that I know of." Antonio and Jo said in unison.

Antonio looked at the box. He grabbed one of the rounds and held it up next to the box. "But… it would hold a bunch of these." The box was the perfect size to hold about a dozen of the bullets.

Hank patted his shoulder. "Good job." He left the kitchen.

Erin and Jo exchanged glances. "This went from mundane to hell." Erin said.

Jo nodded. "Yep… let's catalogue these and get the hell out of here." She went about collecting all the boxes she'd dropped on the floor.

Antonio and Erin went through the other black trash bags to make sure they didn't miss any. CSU came and catalogued the bullets and guns they'd found. Everyone else piled back into their respective vehicles and headed back to the District. They had a lot of information, but not a clue of what to do with it.

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By the end of the day, they'd come to the conclusion that the bullets were being smuggled in by a Canadian pharmaceutical rep out of Toronto. When they'd tracked him down, well, he was dead. They were no further ahead than this morning. Hank sent everyone home. They needed to clear their heads and come back focused the next day.

Jo was finishing some notes when Hank walked over to her desk. "Hey, Dad." She smiled.

"Hey. How is it… you know, being back?" Hank leaned against the filing cabinet behind her desk.

"Good… a little more action packed than I thought it would be, but it feels good to be back."

"I'm glad you're back." Hank patted her on the shoulder. "Um… can I ask you something?"

"Sure…" Josie put her notepad away. "What's up?" She spun her chair around.

"I… I…" Hank stumbled over his words. He didn't know how to say what he wanted to say.

"Dad… what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong… just…" He sighed. "Do I have your blessing to marry your mother?"

Josie's jaw dropped. "Uh, yeah… but, why are you asking me?"

"Because, she's your mother." Hank ran his hand through his hair. "I… I love her. I never thought that I'd find that love again… you know, after Camille… but I have. I'm happy again, and we've got you… and the kids."

"Hey, Dad." Josie took his hand. "As long as she's happy, I'm happy." She got up and hugged him. "You know, Mama's suspicious. She says that you've been acting weird."

"Well… I've been trying to find her ring size… and find the right moment."

Antonio came back from the locker room. "Find the right moment for what?"

"Asking Mama to marry him." Josie giggled.

For the first time since Antonio met Hank Voight, he saw colour flood Voight's cheeks. "Congrats!" Antonio went to shake his hand. "Welcome… officially… to the craziness that is our family."

"Thanks, 'Tonio." Hank smiled. "Uh… so, I'm gonna be taking her out of town once this case is over… head up to the lake for a bit… just the two of us."

"Hey, however you wanna do it, do it." Antonio laughed. "This is a good thing. Now, let's go home so that we can catch these gunrunners sooner, rather than later."

Hank nodded. "Yeah… good plan… go home to the kids. I'll see you two in the morning."

Antonio and Josie nodded and grabbed the coats. They said their farewells and headed out.

Hank watched as they left. He never realized how blessed he was. He knew that he needed to keep his deal with IA, but he wished there was a way to get out from under Gradishar's thumb. He sighed. He had a ring to go pick up. He turned out the lights and left the bullpen.

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They had all the information they needed. They knew who had the guns, where they had come from and now they had the meet. Al and Antonio were going UC to meet up with the guy who had the guns. They headed out. Jo was riding with Hank. They were around the corner from where the meet was supposed to happen.

"Dad… how dangerous is this?"

"Well, these guns have killed a number of bangers, a couple bystanders and a priest… I'm pretty sure it's up there with one of the more dangerous jobs we've had to do." Hank answered.

"I meant how dangerous is this for Antonio and Al?"

"They're the best UCs the CPD has to offer. They know exactly how to handle themselves."

Josie sighed. She knew this was probably going to be the hardest part of the job. Working with her husband and her father, all of them putting their lives on the line. She knew that sitting, watching and waiting for something to happen would be torture. She leaned back and held the binoculars up. "Hey, there's someone coming."

Hank lifted up his binoculars. "Okay, people. Eyes open."

They watched as Al and Antonio exchanged some words with the suspect. Al asked to see the merchandise.

"You'll have to come with us." He answered.

"No way. We're not going anywhere." Antonio crossed his arms, backing away to the car.

"I'll go." Al said, cheerfully. "Don't worry. He's a cupcake."

Antonio groaned. "Whatever."

Al grabbed the bag that had money in it and got into the car.

"Do we follow him?" Adam asked over the radio.

"No." Voight radioed back. "Olinsky's got it. Just keep us close enough for radio contact."

They took off and listened as Al rambled off directions. They knew he was guiding them, but suddenly his wire went dead.

"What happened?" Hank demanded.

Sheldon Jin was fiddling with some of the equipment. "No clue. I think he turned it off."

"Why would he do that?" Jo asked.

"Because they're getting suspicious." Antonio answered. "It's what I'd do."

They kept driving. Sure enough, Al's voice came back over their speakers. They had a location and moved in. Now they just needed him to give the code word and they'd be able to move in.

"Wow." Al's voice said. "Looks just like Christmas morning."

"Go! Go!" Hank ordered as the code word came through loud and clear.

Antonio burst out of the surveillance van first with Erin and Jo right behind him. They burst into the warehouse and opened fire. It didn't last long, but they had a few close calls with some of the rounds that were flying. They had them. Every last one of them was in cuffs. Josie couldn't help by snicker when Al went over to the ring leader and told him the wire had been in his belt buckle.

Antonio clicked the safety on his gun and went over to Josie. "Well, another bunch of crazies off the street."

"All in a day's work." Josie grinned, holstering her own weapon. "Let's go file our paperwork and go home."

"What's the rush?" Antonio asked.

"Well, turns out… Dad can't wait until this weekend." She motioned to her left hand.

"Oh!" Antonio exclaimed. "Wait… what?"

"Just… let's go." Josie laughed.

* * *

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* * *

After an hour of filing paper work and making sure all charges were filed, everyone began to file out. Josie headed straight for Voight's office and knocked on the door.

"Hey, kiddo." Hank said looking up from his phone. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah… just… uh… any particular reason as to why you want to move up the proposal?"

Hank sighed. "Uh… your mom's getting really suspicious… for one… and two, I realized that going to the lake to propose isn't what… I… I… have no clue what I'm trying to say anymore."

"Have you talked to Justin… about all this?" Josie closed the door and sat down.

"I have… he was surprised, like you were but he said if we're happy, then that's all that matters."

"See." Josie laughed. "So, what's really going on?"

"I don't want to wait another 3 days to ask. I almost asked her this morning when she was making breakfast."

"Why didn't you?" Josie asked.

"I don't know… I just want it special, with the family."

"So, you're saying you wanna ask Mama to marry you, in front of all of us."

Hank nodded slowly. "Yeah, I guess that's what I'm trying to say."

Josie brushed her bangs from her eyes. "Okay… well, maybe we all go out for a nice dinner… and you can ask… or I could cook something with the girls."

Hank thought about it. "I think you guys cooking would be less suspicious."

"Okay." Josie got up and went around his desk to kiss her father on the cheek. "Be at our place around 7?"

"You got it." Hank squeezed her hand. "Thank you, Josie… this… this means a lot."

"Hey… it's not every day my dad proposes to my mom." She laughed. "See you tonight."

She left his office in search of Antonio. It was 5 o'clock already and they had to get a lot of stuff done in a short amount of time. She found him in the locker room.

"Hey, babe." He kissed her. "Where's the fire?"

"Uh, we gotta get home and get supper going." She said.

"Uh, the kids usually have supper going by now."

"Yeah, well… there's going to be two extra people tonight… and, it's kind of a big deal."

"Jo, what the hell are you yammering about?"

"Dad wants to ask Mama to marry him…"

"Yeah, I know that."

"Tonight."

"Oh." Antonio let it sink in. "Oh! Wait… he wants to propose to her… at our house… over dinner!?"

"Yep… so… let's go." She grabbed his hand and half dragged him out of the locker room.

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* * *

They had called the kids from the car and rushed home. When they got there, Eva and Zoë had already gotten supper going. Dixie had gone home once the kids arrived home from school, as Josie had told her she wanted them to get some babysitting experience under their belt. The house smelled delicious. Antonio and Josie went to shower and change. When they got back into the kitchen, the table had been set with Josie's nice dishes and the boys were busy setting out the silverware.

"Wow! Guys!" Josie exclaimed. "This looks amazing!"

The kids were beaming. "It's not every day that we get to help our grandpa propose." Xavier laughed.

The whole family joined in.

"That's very true." Antonio put his hand on his eldest son's shoulder. "Now, we've got everything ready?"

"Yeah, I think so." Eva picked up Grace out her bouncy chair. "What do you think Gracie?"

Grace just gurgled and grasped at her big sister's curls.

"Hey!" Eva gasped as Grace gave her hair a tug. "Ouchie."

Josie took Grace. "That is why I always have my hair pulled back… but I guess I also just get used to it." Unlike when the twins were born, Josie hadn't chopped off her long locks. She had let her hair go back to her natural auburn colour since she and Antonio had reconnected. She wanted to go back to normal, and that meant not dyeing her hair every couple weeks. It had also been much safer while she'd been pregnant. She pushed a strand behind her ear. "It takes some getting used to, but one thing I will never wear when she's still in the grabby phase is any earring that dangles… I learned that lesson the hard way with Xavier."

"Sorry, Mom." Xavier said sheepishly. "You haven't let me forget that."

"It's been almost 16 years, but I'm pretty sure my ear still has a scar from where you ripped my earring."

Antonio leaned in and closely inspected her ear. "This tiny thing?" He pointed to a hair-thin scar that went from the piercing to the bottom of the lobe.

"That would be it." Josie laughed. "I made the mistake of wearing some beautiful dangling earring Mama had given me for my 18th birthday… and Xavier grabbed a hold of it and yanked… even as a baby he was strong."

Xavier couldn't help but turn red. "Moooooooom!"

"Well, it's true… just you wait… one day when you bring a girl home…" Josie let the thought trail off.

"Oh, well… uh…" Xavier went to go check if his grandparents had arrived.

"Xavier… is there something you want to tell us?" Antonio questioned, blocking Xavier's escape route.

Xavier's cheeks turned an even deeper shade of red.

"Oh my God!" Eva exclaimed. "Xavier!"

Zoë was just standing by the stove trying to stifle her laughter.

"Zoë?" Her mother asked in her 'detective' voice, dragging out her name. "Something you want to share with the rest of us?"

Zoë spun around. "Uh, not really."

"Zoë?" Josie asked again.

"I plead the 5th." Zoë tried to get out of this. She had promised Xavier that she wasn't going to tell his secret.

"How on Earth can you incriminate yourself in this?" Diego scratched his head.

"It's an expression." Zoë replied.

 _ **DING DONG! DING DONG!**_

"Thank God!" Xavier exclaimed, taking advantage of his father's surprise to run out of the kitchen to the front door.

"Saved by the bell." Zoë grinned. She went to pull the pot roast from the oven.

"This discussion is so not over." Antonio said.

"Agreed." Josie stared at her daughter. This was the first time that she didn't know what was really going on in the twins' lives. They had always come to her, no matter what. It hurt a little bit. She sighed and went to greet her parents at the door. "Hi Mama, Dad." She kissed each of them on the cheek. "Hope you're hungry."

"Smells delicious." Hank said. "What did you cook that smells so good?"

"Not me… the girls. It was a nice treat to not have to ask for help in the kitchen." Josie smiled. "Grace would love some snuggles with Mimi and Grandpa."

Hank hadn't seen Grace since the memorial for Jules. He instantly reached for her. Grace recognized him and reached for him. He held her and started whispering to her. It was a sight to behold. Antonio never thought he'd see the day that tough guy, Hank Voight, was rendered to a giant teddy bear, but that's how he was around Grace and the other kids.

Dixie smiled. "I was just curious as to why we're having a huge family meal… it's not the weekend…"

"Oh!" Josie exclaimed. "The girls told me they were making your recipe of pot roast and they really wanted you here to see if they'd done it right."

"Oh, those darlings." Dixie laughed. "I'm sure it tastes amazing."

"Come in, Mama, Dad… the foods ready. We wouldn't want it to get cold." Josie gently nudged them towards the kitchen. She motioned for Xavier to follow them.

Antonio stood back. "Think she suspects something?"

"Who the hell knows?" Josie shrugged. "I didn't have family drama for 15 years and now it's all dropping in my lap at once… I just hope she says yes."

"You think she'd say otherwise?"

"Again… who knows." Josie was wishing that her father would've given her a little more notice to help make this perfect.

"You two coming?" Hank's gravelly voice came down the hallway.

"Coming!" Antonio called back. "It's going to be okay." He kissed Josie's cheek.

"It has to be." Josie smiled. "Let's go."

They sat at the table. Xavier and Diego said grace and they began to hand down the dishes of food. Small talk was made about the kids' school and homework or their latest adventures in extracurricular events. Zoë took that time to invite her grandparents to come watch her compete in the school's version of Iron Chef.

"That sounds like a fun experience." Dixie said. "I'd love to come and watch."

"If I can, I'll be there." Hank grinned. "I have to say; this pot roast is pretty tasty."

"We tried to follow Mimi's recipe to the best of our ability." Eva said.

"You girls did great." Dixie patted Eva's hand. "You two definitely have a gift in the kitchen."

"Diego, are you going to be doing soccer again this year?" Hank asked him.

"I'm thinking about it… but it depends on the Science club."

"Got big plans?" Hank wanted to bond with all of his grandchildren.

"Well, after next weekend, we'll know if we made it to the State level of competition."

"That's great news!" Hank exclaimed. "So what are you guys working on?"

"That's where we're stuck." Diego replied. "My team wants to do something no one has ever done at competition before."

"I'm sure you guys will come up with something. You're all so bright." Dixie grinned. "I think we're very blessed to have such bright and talented grandchildren like you guys."

"Thanks, Mimi." They replied.

Everyone was trying to figure out when Hank was going to pop the question. Antonio could see his father-in-law was starting to get a little antsy. He got up and went to get the bottle of wine that he'd been chilling for the last hour. "Wine?" He asked.

"Yes, please." Hank raised his glass for Antonio to pour the wine.

Antonio couldn't help but notice that Hank's hand was shaking a little bit. He then turned to Dixie. "Wine?"

"Why not?" She smiled.

Josie was thankful that Grace had weaned herself from breastmilk at 4 months. She needed wine right now. She was busting at the seams. She just wanted her father to get on with it already. "Me too please."

"What about the breast milk?" Dixie asked.

"Mama, I told you… Grace decided she only wanted formula… I couldn't keep up… we've been doing formula for almost a month now."

"Oh! Right. Sorry, Cherie." Dixie giggled. "A lot has changed."

"Don't I know it." Josie mumbled under her breath. She gratefully took a deep sip of the wine. "Good choice, babe."

"Thanks." Antonio poured himself some wine before putting the wine back in the fridge.

"Uh, Dad… could I talk to you? Alone?" Josie asked.

"Sure, Jo." Hank got up from the table.

Josie needed to talk some sense into her father because this whole thing was causing her to develop an ulcer. Once they were far away from the dining area, she asked. "Please… are you gonna ask her or what?"

Hank rubbed the back of his neck. "I am… I… it's not easy!"

"Dad! It's a question… not rocket science!" Josie exclaimed. "I'm getting anxiety for you… I think Antonio is too."

"Josie…" Hank whispered. "It's been over 30 years since I thought about proposing to a woman."

"Dad… you're living together, you have me… the kids… pretty sure that Justin is okay with it too… especially the last time I talked to him. I asked him what he thought of the two of you. He said as long as everyone's happy, then that's all that matters."

"I know… that's what he told me when I saw him a couple days ago and talked to him about this."

"Then, what's the hold up?"

"What if she says no?"

Josie was very tempted to do a face-palm. "Daaaaaad."

"Josie… I'm serious."

"Mom's been alone for a long as time… I don't think she's ever been happier than she is with you. You brought a light back to her eye that I haven't seen in a very long time."

"You serious?"

"Very." Josie hugged him. "Just… ask her, please?"

"Okay…" Hank took a deep breath. "Let's… let's do this."

Josie headed back to the kitchen to allow her father to get his thoughts together. She sat back down and quickly finished her wine. Antonio squeezed her hand.

"Everything okay, Cherie?" Dixie asked. She was bouncing Grace on her knee.

"Yeah, just had to ask him something about work… complicated… don't worry so much, Mama." Josie answered. "Grace looks happy."

"This is one of the things that I can do for hours with her… or at least until my knees start killing me." Dixie laughed. "You loved this when you were a little girl…"

"I think the twins liked it too." Josie reminisced to when the twins were Grace's age.

"Eva and Diego loved it when I did that for them… I think all babies love that." Antonio smiled. He could see Hank coming back into the dining area from the corner of his eye.

Dixie was distracted by Grace. Hank looked to Antonio, Josie and the kids. They all nodded. He went to Dixie's chair and knelt just out her line of sight. He then tapped on her shoulder.

Dixie swung around. "Hank… what?"

Hank then tried to remember the proposal he'd been rehearsing for over a week. His mind had gone blank. He cleared his throat and went with what came out next. "Evangeline Duplessis… I…" He paused and took a deep breath. "I haven't had so much love and joy in my life as I have these past 10 months… in a long time. You've brought me back to life… and, we have this amazing family together." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box.

Dixie gasped. "Hank…"

"I love you. Would you do the great honour… of being my wife?" He popped the box open.

Dixie's jaw dropped. "Oh, Hank…" She could barely breathe. This was not what she'd been thinking of. She quickly looked to the others around the table. She could see all of them wanted to know what she was going to say. She looked to Grace. "Gracie, what do you think?"

Grace gurgled and reached out for her grandfather.

Dixie smiled. "I think she says I should say yes."

"We all do!" Xavier and Diego exclaimed, earning them a shushing from their parents.

"Yes… yes, Henry Voight… I will marry you."

Hank breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God." He took the ring from the box and slid it on her left ring finger. He got up and kissed her. "I love you."

"I love you too." She looked at the ring. It was simple but elegant. An oval cut diamond surround by a tiny halo of smaller emeralds. On either side were three small diamond set in the shape of a triquetra. All of it was set in yellow gold. "It's beautiful."

"It suits you." Hank was grinning like a little kid on Christmas. "I couldn't wait another day to ask you."

"Wait, is this why you've been acting so weird the last few days?" Dixie asked.

"Yeah… I was…"

"He was worried you'd say no." Josie jumped in. "He's had us all on edge… but, we couldn't be happier."

"So, y'all knew?" Dixie looked around the table.

"Uh, yeah." Was the consensus.

"Well, I guess… we have some planning to do."

"Yes… but I think the kids need to head to bed." Hank pointed to Grace who was dozing off in her grandmother's arm.

"It is a little late." Dixie noted the time. "Um, thank you guys… for the supper and for all keeping this a big secret."

"We love you!" The girls smiled.

"I love you, too… okay, well… we're going to head out for the night… we'll see you again Sunday?"

"Always, Mama." Josie took Grace from her mother. "It's tradition."

Hank and Dixie bid their family good night and headed out. Antonio and the kids cleaned the table while Josie took Grace to the nursery. Their family was a little odd, but it was their family and that was all that mattered.

* * *

 _ **A/N: Well, a new adventure… more to come… in the meantime, check out my latest updates for "The Rose". Also, if anyone's on Tumblr, check out my Brettonio one shots that haven't yet been migrated to here. brettonio-one-chicago is where you can find them. Let me know what you think! Love always, Nicole**_


	14. The High Road

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In the past month, Josie and Antonio had finally gotten their routine down, and Josie had been able to adjust to being back at work. In their down time, Josie was helping her parents plan their wedding. She knew her mother didn't want a fancy affair, but she also knew that they both deserved a special day.

"Jo!" Antonio called from the kitchen. "You coming or what?"

"Yeah, yeah." Josie shouted back. She looked at their daughter who was rolling around on their bed. "Daddy's being snippy today."

"I'm not snippy." Antonio said from the doorway. "Come on… I get you're the boss' daughter and all that, but I still don't like being late."

Josie shook her head. "Just… chill… she's not goin' to be this small forever… and well… I don't know if we can have another one."

Antonio sighed and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Do you want another one?"

"I don't know." Josie sighed. "I always saw us having a big family back then… and we have 5 kids."

"Babe… I think you're not telling me something."

Josie didn't want to say anything, but she knew Antonio would keep pushing for an answer. "Since we had Grace, I've had this pang… that I missed having babies around."

Antonio kissed her. "Let's get through Grace's first year… and we'll talk about it."

"I'll be 33 this year…"

"Yeah… your point?"

"I'm not getting any younger, Antonio."

"Neither am I… don't forget I'm 4 years older than you… I'm not worried about it… if we want to try again, we can… just, I'd like for Grace to be a year-old first."

"So, you'd be fine with 6 kids?"

"Jo… we have 6… 5 here… and one watching over us… so we'd have 7."

Josie nodded. "It's hard… realizing what we could have had."

Antonio kissed her again before picking Grace up from the bed. "Jo, you're a mom… the best mom I've seen in a long time… it's okay to hurt…"

"It's been six months." Josie sniffled.

"I know, babe… I know." Antonio said. "You wanna take the day off… spend the time with your mom and Grace…"

Josie wiped her eyes and shook her head. "No! I… I can do the job."

"No one's saying you can't." Antonio groaned. "You're allowed to be human."

"Human isn't going to get scum off the streets of Chicago."

Antonio sighed. "Okay…" He looked to Grace. "Mommy's being crazy again."

Grace giggled and pulled at Antonio's dog tags. She gurgled and cooed.

"Okay, Mimi is probably here now… let's go." Josie grabbed her jacket and bag and they headed to the kitchen.

The kids had headed off to school already and Dixie was in the kitchen making coffee.

"Y'all are gonna be late." She took Grace from Antonio.

"Mom…"

"Don't you sass me, Josephine." Dixie hadn't used Josie's full name since the twins had been born.

"Okay… okay!" Josie took the travel mugs from the counter. "We're going."

Dixie kissed them each on the cheek and took Grace's chubby little hand in hers and waved. "Bye Mama, bye Daddy…"

Antonio laughed as he grabbed the keys by the door and they headed to the district.

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* * *

It was getting late. They'd wrapped up early enough. Josie was watching her father pace in his office. Erin was sitting next to her. "What's he doing?"

Josie shrugged. "No clue."

Antonio came out of the locker room. "What's Voight doing?"

"No idea." Erin and Josie said in unison.

"That's just creepy." Antonio shook his head.

"How's Justin doing?" Josie asked Erin. She had wanted to go with Erin to pick him up when he was released the night before, but Grace had a high fever, so Antonio and her had taken her to see a doctor.

"Good… he hasn't reached out?" Erin asked.

Josie sighed. "No… and I don't want to push him, either. He's just getting used to having a sister, brother-in-law and their kids… now Mama and Dad are getting married… it's a lot to take in…"

Erin nodded. "It is." She looked to her mentor before turning back to Josie. "What did he say when you guys told them Hank was marrying Dixie?"

"Nothing." Josie said. "He just kinda stared at us before saying congratulations, but it didn't seem genuine."

"Hmm." Erin looked to Antonio. "What do you make of this?"

"I don't know… I'm living in a completely different world now. I put both my brother and father-in-law in prison… I'm not exactly the person they call to chat." Antonio leaned against his desk. He looked to Josie. "Jo, you should go talk to him."

"About what?"

"Whatever is bugging him." Antonio suggested. "It's hard for him right now, he's trying to balance everything and it's not easy."

Josie groaned. "Okay… but I'm not responsible if he breaks something tonight." She walked up to her father's office and knocked on the door. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, Josie…" Hank motioned to her to close the door behind her. "What's up?"

"We're worried about you… you've been pacing in her for the last hour." Josie sat on the corner of his desk. "What's bothering you?"

Hank groaned. "It's Justin… I promised him that I'd pick him up… but I couldn't… then, well… I don't think he's too thrilled I'm marrying your mother."

"Why do you say that?"

"He… I don't know… at first, he was so into us being one big family, no matter how it came to be… but the last couple weeks, he's been different."

"Have you talked to him about it?"

Hank shrugged. "Josie… your paternal side isn't exactly known for talking."

"Oh… so maybe I was left by aliens… because I always talk things out… well, mostly… Mama isn't known for her talking skills either." Josie laughed. "Maybe we can talk this over while at dinner tonight?"

"You proposing we go out for dinner?"

"Erin… actually proposed it. As much as she wasn't my biggest fan when I came into Intelligence, I think she's growing on me… she knows my own father and brother better than I do."

Hank chuckled. "That she does. She may not be mine biologically, but she's the closest thing I had to a daughter for a long time."

"So, she thinks we should go out… talk to Justin…"

"Who should go?"

"You, Erin and me… Antonio can go and deal with the kids for a bit… I think Justin just needs to know that we're here for him and that he's got the chance of a lifetime to fix all this."

Hank thought about it. Josie had a point. "Okay… well… let's do it."

"Good. Reservation's already made and we can pick Justin up on the way."

Hank hugged her. "You are definitely your mother's daughter."

Josie smiled. "Let's go eat… I'm starving."

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"Dad… where's Mom?" Xavier asked.

"With your grandpa and Erin… they're trying to talk to your Justin… you know, help he adjust." Antonio said while pulling the pizza out of the oven.

"Is Uncle Justin going to be okay?" Diego asked.

"Yeah… of course he is." Antonio smiled. He cut the pizza. "Eat up… I'm going to feed Grace."

 _ **Meanwhile…**_

"So, Justin… how's it going?" Josie asked.

Justin shrugged. "Okay… I guess."

Hank told him about the job at the CTA. Justin didn't seem impressed. Erin and Josie tried to convince him that he needed to take baby steps to get reintegrated.

Hank's cell began to ring. He excused himself from the table and went to take it.

Justin, ignoring Josie, turned to Erin. "Strange how things worked out, huh?"

Erin arched an eyebrow. "Whatta ya talkin' about?"

"Well, we took you in… you were the screw up… now you're the golden girl and I'm the prodigal son."

"Justin…" Josie reached for his hand.

He pulled his hand back as if Josie were a viper, set to strike. "You just showed up… you're supposedly my dad's kid and now he's marrying your mom…"

"Justin!" Erin snapped. "She is your sister… and Hank is happy… what is wrong with you?"

"I'm still the guy I was when I got tossed in there by my 'brother-in-law' a year ago." Justin snapped back.

"You have a second chance, now… don't piss on it." Erin said. "Your dad and sister have put their reputations on the line… don't bite the hand that's just trying to help you out."

Hank returned from the call. He could tell that something was up. He groaned. "I'm sorry, kid… we gotta roll."

Justin looked to his father, a mix of pain and anger filled his eyes. "Sure, whatever, Pop." He got up from the table and stormed off.

"You two wanna tell me what that was about?"

"Not really." Erin grabbed her coat. "We got a case?"

Hank nodded slowly. "Jo, Antonio's meeting us there. You can catch a ride with me."

Josie looked to Erin, who nodded. They both knew that one of the only ways Hank wouldn't flip was if Josie broke the news to him. "Sure thing, Dad."

* * *

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Antonio was shaking his head. There was a notice that Intelligence was supposed to be called about this guy, but he didn't recognize the name. He noticed that Voight, Josie and Lindsay were pulling up. He could also tell that his father-in-law was not happy about something. He'd have to talk to Jo about it later. He went to join them. "House belongs to a Dean Masters. His file was red-flagged to notify Intelligence. I don't recognize the name… had to have been before my time." He handed Hank the file.

Hank looked it over. "Oh… yeah… him."

The rest of the team was staring at him. "And?"

"That robbery at the Art Institute last year… We liked him as the fence."

They went on to explain how they'd ended up there. Hank groaned. He hated this type of situation. He walked up to the door and demanded that Masters give up. When that didn't work, the busted down the doors and stormed the place. Erin, Jay and Josie were trying to talk Masters down, but that failed miserably when he blew his own brains out.

"Jo!" Antonio rushed to her after Erin and Jo had pulled the girl Masters had been holding hostage away. "You okay?"

Jo nodded. "Yeah… Jesus Christ."

Antonio pulled her into his arms. "I hate when you're the one that gets caught up in that."

Jo sighed. "Antonio… I've been a cop for a long ass time… I know this happens."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Keep smothering me, Detective… and I'll sic my father on you." Josie smirked.

Antonio sighed. "Okay." He turned his attention to Jay and Erin. "You two okay?"

They nodded, but Antonio could tell they were shaken up.

"My sister and her partner went through this a year or so back… my sister was okay, but her partner… Shay took it really hard. Don't be afraid to talk to anyone… me, even. You know… if it sneaks up on you."

"Thanks." Jay nodded.

"Sure thing." Erin agreed.

As cops, they'd seen their share of things on the job, but things like this, it always left them shook up.

* * *

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They'd come up with some proof that an Adam Mazur was the pimp running the girls that had been coming to Masters. Since Masters was ranting that a 'Nadia' was the one that was supposed to show up, the team knew that Mazur was the next one they needed to bring in.

Antonio was pulling vest on. "I remember Mazur back from my Vice days. Used to call him the 'Whac-a-mole pimp'. We'd take him out at one place and he'd just pop up in the next."

"Sounds like a winner." Josie pulled her jacket over her vest. "Let's just get him… before this escalates out of control."

When they pulled up to the club, and they went inside. Antonio, Jo and Hank went to find Mazur while Jay and the others kept security busy. Antonio found Mazur and grabbed him by his shirt collar. "How you doing, Mazur?"

"Uh… he…hey, Antonio…" Mazur stammered.

"You got a girl called Nadia?" Josie got in his face.

"Nope… never heard of no Nadia."

Voight didn't have time for this. He got involved and within a matter of seconds, he had the room Nadia was in. He sent Ruzek to go get her. They were cuffing the others when there was a shout of pain. Antonio and Josie looked to each other and took off to check on Adam.

When they got there, Ruzek was on the floor grabbing his crotch and the door leading outside was wide open. Josie groaned. Their potential witness, or suspect, was gone and Ruzek was injured. Antonio helped Adam up and Josie went to tell her father that Nadia was in the wind.

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Jay and Antonio went to check on Ruzek. He was currently pantless in the locker room. Antonio tossed him an ice pack. "Here."

"Thanks, I think they're swollen." Adam hissed as he applied the ice to his groin.

"I'll take your word for it." Jay laughed. "Unis picked Nadia up trying to score over on Roosevelt."

"You alright?" Antonio asked.

"No."

"Just checking." Antonio chuckled.

"Antonio, it ain't funny, man… Me and Wendy… we want kids. If I'm sterile, I'm gonna have this chick's neck."

"Uh-uh." Antonio shook his head. "This is all on you, Ruzek."

"You can't let your guard down like that, ever." Jay added. "She may look innocent, but those are the most dangerous kind."

Ruzek lied back on the bench. "Good talk."

Meanwhile, Al had been called away to his daughter's school. So, with Al and Ruzek temporarily out of the field, the others were left picking up the slack. Erin and Josie decided to take a crack at Nadia. Erin was able to get through to her more than Josie. Josie had tried the mom approach, while Erin used a more in your face approach.

When they came back upstairs, Al had some punk tied to a chair in the rollout and Jay was in Hank's office. Josie looked to Antonio. "What the hell is going on here, today?"

"I have no fuckin' clue." Antonio sighed. "What did you two manage to get out of Nadia?"

"She gave us a name… he's supposed to be in on all this." Erin joined them. "What's going on with Jay?"

"No clue." Antonio took a look at the notes Erin had. "Okay, let's get ready to roll out."

They checked out Noel Harris' place. He was dead but they'd determined that he was part of a counterfeiting crew. He fabricated the paper for the counterfeiters, which meant Masters had been the one who did the art for it.

Hank groaned. "We had to have missed something at Masters'… tear that place apart."

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After they discovered the hidden room at Masters' place, Voight brought in a buddy of his from the Chicago Field Office of the Secret Service.

"Wait, boss… we handing this case over?"

Hank shook his head. "Not just yet. Any time counterfeit is involved, they get called in."

They went over the new information concerning this method of counterfeiting. They'd all seen the new, fancy printers, but the old-school method with plates was rare to see now. They'd come to the conclusion that 2 of the 3 involved in this were dead, they'd have to find the third guy before he ended up riddled with bullets too. They were looking for their printer and they had no idea who to look for.

Hank turned to Erin. "You gotta take another run at Nadia."

Erin nodded and headed to the cage to see if they could get anything else out of her, especially since they now knew that Nadia knew Masters better than she was letting on.

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"Al?" Josie found him pacing outside the rollout.

"Yeah, Jo?"

"Everything okay?"

Al sighed. "Not really."

"Wanna talk about it?"

Al arched an eyebrow. "How can you help?"

"I'm assuming this has something to do with Lexie… she's what 15?"

Al nodded. "Yeah."

"The twins are that age… I think I know a thing or two about kids that age."

"It's this guy she's seeing… he's a senior."

Josie nodded. "I see."

"He got her to hide pot in her locker… because he's can't have a record for his scholarships."

"Al… Lexie's a smart girl… and kind."

"She's suspended… for a loser." Al groaned.

Josie patted his shoulder. "I'm taking she's pissed at you?"

"Putting it mildly." Al sighed. "I just want what's best for her."

"We all wants what's best for our kids." Josie smiled. "Lexie will do what's right. I know that. You just gotta have faith in her."

"Thanks, Jo." Al squeezed her hand. "You obviously get your wisdom from your mother."

Josie laughed. "Don't let Dad hear that."

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* * *

Josie was just walking upstairs when Justin stormed by her. "Hey! Justin!" She got no reaction, so she finished making her way upstairs. "Dad… you got a minute?"

Hank nodded and headed into his office. He closed the door behind Josie. "What's up?"

"I just saw Justin… what's going on?"

Hank shook his head. "He wants money… thinks I still have lots of it lying around… wants to get in on some business thing so he doesn't have to work at the CTA."

"How much is he talking about?"

"10 grand." Hank sat at his desk.

"What the hell kind of business venture is that?" Josie sat across from him.

"Something about cell phones… he's just pissed that I wouldn't give it to him."

"Did you even have that lying around?" Josie asked. She'd heard the rumours about her father.

"No… and even if I did… I wouldn't give it to him." Hank leaned back in his chair. "I want him to grow… learn from his mistakes."

"I get that, Dad." Josie said. "Why does he think you'd have that money?"

"Jo, you've heard the rumours."

"Dad, I'm asking you."

Hank sighed. "I wasn't exactly being moral and… I'm not like Antonio."

"Dad… no one's perfect." She reached across the desk and squeezed his hand. "You're still my dad."

"I'm not the man…"

"Dad, you gotta stop beating yourself up over some of this… and you're right, Justin has to learn on his own."

Hank nodded. "We got anything to move on?"

Josie nodded. "Yeah… Glen Ward… or Denis Diderot… whoever, he's got a warehouse… we're ready to hit it when you are."

"Then let's go." Hank got up from his chair.

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The raid went down without too much of a hitch. A couple of Ward's goons needed to be transported to Med, but otherwise, they got the bad guys and the counterfeit cash. Everyone was happy, well almost everyone. As they were punching out, Jay got a death glare from Hank.

"You know anything about all that?" Josie whispered to Antonio.

He shook his head. "No, but Jay asked me to go to Molly's… talk about something."

"Go…" She kissed him. "I'll be fine with the kids… Mama and Dad are supposed be coming by work on some wedding stuff anyhow."

"Don't tell Voight that I'm meeting with Halstead." He kissed her again. "Please."

"I'll tell him you're visiting Gaby." She grinned. "See you later tonight."

Antonio knew he was lucky. He nodded and went to find Jay.

"Hey, 'Tonio." Jay met him outside the District.

"Hey, what the hell's going on between you and Voight?"

"I'll tell you at Molly's." Jay made his way to his vehicle. "What did you tell Josie?"

"The truth. She's not gonna blab anything to Hank… they're knee deep in wedding plans anyhow."

Jay laughed. "Never thought I'd see him get married."

"Meh… at least he's not kicking my ass anymore." Antonio got in. "Let's just go and get this over with."

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"Dad!" Josie chased after him. "Dad! What's wrong?"

Hank was pulling his coat on. "It's Justin."

Josie reached for her coat. "Let me help."

"No… I'm good. Help your mother out with this stuff… I'm good with whatever she wants." He kissed her cheek. "See you tomorrow."

Josie sighed as she closed the door behind him. Something was definitely up with Justin and whatever it was, it wasn't good.

Antonio got home shortly after midnight. He was surprised to see that Dixie was still there going over different menus. He gave Josie a kiss and went to hug Dixie. "Hey, Dixie… you're here late."

"Hank had to go solve something… so I'm just chilling." She smiled.

Antonio looked to Josie, who just shook her head. "Anything I can help with?"

"I'm stuck on menus." She handed Antonio two different menus.

"Sure thing." He smiled. "I like this one… buffets are able to give people more variety."

"That's what Hank said… I just wasn't sure." Dixie smiled, but they could both see something was bothering her.

Josie finished putting the dishes away and closed the dishwasher. "Mama… what's going on?"

"Isn't planning a wedding the answer?"

"Mama… we're both detectives… come on." Josie sat next to her.

"I… I don't know if Hank really wants to go through with this." She was fiddling with her engagement ring.

"Mama…" Josie took her hand. "Dad wants to marry you… it's… Justin is taking a little more of his time than he'd like… but Mama… he still loves you."

"I guess I just feel… like maybe he's second guessing our relationship." Dixie sighed. She looked to them. "I'm sorry… y'all don't need this."

"Dixie… I know Hank and Justin… this whole getting out of Statesville thing is going to take time for both of them to adjust to this. Plus… We're all worried that Justin may be getting into something that could do more harm than good."

Dixie sighed. "I know… he mumbles about it in his sleep." Dixie looked to Josie. "I just feel like I'm invading their family."

"Mama… that's not true… Justin just has to realize that he isn't the centre of Dad's universe like he seems to think he is." Josie kissed her cheek. "You wanna stay here tonight, or you want us to drive you home?"

She shrugged. "I don't want to be a burden. I can call a cab."

"Mama… not another word." Josie looked to Antonio. He nodded. "You'll stay here tonight."

Antonio went to go get the guest room ready. He also knew that there was going to be a long discussion into what was going on with her father and half-brother. He sighed. It was late, they had to work in the morning, Grace still wasn't over her ear infection and now they had this. "I swear that man will be the death of me." Antonio groaned. He went to let them know the room was ready and then went to check on Grace.

Josie made sure her mom was settled in before heading to her own room. She knew Antonio had checked on Grace. She was frustrated. Between everything that was going on here and at work, they now had to add her parents' relationship to the pile. She got changed and was applying lotion to her hands when Antonio got in the room.

"Jo… we cannot get involved."

"The hell we can't!" She exclaimed. "Between family drama and the job drama… we're going to be walking into a soap opera… or a telenovela."

Antonio groaned and stripped down to his briefs. "Look, baby… I love you and your family… even Voight… most days… but we can't be bringing work home and home to work."

"Antonio… we can't risk it… Dad's gonna go down a rabbit hole with Justin again."

Antonio grabbed a pillow and hid his head under it. "I'm not doing this again. Last time I did, my sister's firehouse went under Voight's rampage."

"Dad's not the same way as he was back then."

"Jo… baby…" He pulled her into his arms. "I know he's not… but, if Justin's getting into trouble again… there's nothing your father won't do to protect him."

Josie's heart broke at that fact. She knew it was true, but she hoped that maybe Justin would be better now that he was out. "How can I help them?"

"You're doing all you can, Jo." Antonio stroked her arm. "You can't work miracles on people who don't want to be helped."

Josie sniffled. "I know."

Antonio kissed her. "Babe, I know you want to fix this, make it all better and have a family that's more or less in one piece, but there are things that aren't always going to work the way you want them."

"He made my mother cry, Antonio." She wiped her eyes.

Now he had the whole picture. "We'll deal with all this in the morning. I promise." He looked down and saw that Josie was already asleep. "I promise, no one is going to hurt our family anymore." He kissed her and turned the light out. Tomorrow was not going to be a good day.

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 _ **A/N: Well, there we have it. I know it's taking forever to update, but I have multiple stories on the go as well as Brettonio one shots… so I'm trying to alternate between all of them. More to come soon. Cheers! Nicole.**_


	15. I See Everything

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Antonio had headed over to the gym early. He was meeting Jay to train together. He also knew that he should be home with Jo to deal with this mess with Justin, but she insisted that they keep their lives as normal as possible. He had his hands tied right now. He wanted to help Josie fix the things going on with Voight and Justin, but at the same time, the cop in him was struggling. He couldn't help Voight if Justin screwed up again. IA was still breathing down Intelligence's neck since Voight got promoted.

Antonio was watching Jay train on a heavy bag when Erin showed up with Justin in tow. Antonio watched as Justin's body language stiffened when Erin introduced Jay as her partner. He also could see jealousy in Justin's face. He groaned internally. Justin had a thing for Erin, and Jay had a thing for her too. This wasn't going to make things easier for Josie and him. He could also see that Jay's comments were pissing Erin off. She finally took off. Jay and Antonio showered and got ready for work.

Antonio got up into the bullpen and was greeted by a cup of coffee from Josie. "Thanks." He kissed her cheek. "How's your mom this morning?"

"She's okay… or so she says." She sipped her tea.

"Well… this whole thing got more complicated." He whispered as Jay walked past them.

"What the heck happened at the gym?" Josie whispered back.

"Your brother has a thing for Erin, and Jay has…"

"Oh fuck." Josie shook her head. "Love triangles are never good."

"Especially not when Erin is like a daughter to Hank." Antonio sipped some of the coffee.

"Let's hope today goes by fairly smoothly." Josie headed back to her desk.

That hope was shot the instant Voight came out of his office. "Erin, Josie, Antonio… let's roll… Atwater and Burgess caught a case."

"You jinxed this." Josie jabbed her finger at her husband.

Antonio grabbed his jacket. "I know… I'm sorry."

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"Whatta we got?" Voight asked as they met up with Kim and Kevin, who was buttoning up a clean shirt.

"Female, white, just got out of surgery."

"I heard female, white, knocked you around pretty good." Erin teased Kevin.

"Whatever she was on… gave her the strength of ten men." Atwater said in his defense.

Kim handed them a plane ticket. "She had no ID… only this plane ticket. Landed at O'Hare this morning from Cabo San Lucas."

"Just how much cocaine did she have on her?" Antonio asked.

"Not on her. Inside her. 30 balloons… in her stomach." Kim answered.

Voight dismissed them and they went to find the doctor who was working this case. The doctor explained that usually, the patient would've been given Haldol to calm them down and send them to rehab. This patient had been different because she had started seizing.

"Welcome to Chicago, distribution centre of the Midwest." Antonio said.

He and Josie went to look over the bags that had been surgically removed from their Jane Doe.

"We removed 29 condoms full of cocaine… she had swallowed 30. One busted open and started to dissolve in her stomach."

"So, the drug leached into her bloodstream." Josie deduced. "That would cause her psychosis and the inhuman strength."

The doctor nodded. "Never ceases to amaze me… what people will do for money."

"Well… sometimes people feel like they don't got a choice." Erin said.

Josie knew there was something more there, but she'd figure it out later.

The doctor explained that the cocaine she'd had tested was 89% pure. "Highest grade I've ever seen."

Hank rubbed his chin.

"All these…" Antonio motioned to the condoms. "Worth 50k, easy."

"So, what… Cartel's getting smart… recruiting all-America types?" Josie asked.

"These are full of air pockets." Antonio held one of them up. "No way the cartels would be this careless."

"So, amateur hour." Josie sighed. "No wonder the condoms burst."

Hank looked to the doctor. "We need to question her. How soon 'til she's conscious?"

Doc shrugged. "2 or 3 hours."

"Thanks, Doc." Hank shook her hand.

The doctor left them to go check on other patients.

"Alright…" Voight turned to Josie and Antonio. "Get Jin to contact O'Hare… get anything we can out of the TSA… see if we can't ID this girl."

They nodded and left. Voight turned to Erin. "Let's go… we gotta get ahead of this."

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Antonio was pacing around Jin's office. Josie was smirking. "You didn't pace that much when Grace was born."

Antonio froze. "I was a little busy helping you deliver her to be pacing." He started to move around the room again.

Jin was going through multiple camera angles of O'Hare's arrival gates to try and find their Jane Doe. "Just don't wear a hole in the floor."

Antonio glared at him. "Really, you too?"

"Hey… you married the boss' daughter." Jin said before hitting a couple more keys. "Okay, so according to the flight manifest… your girl's name is Amber Morris… came in on the red-eye from Cabo this morning."

"Was she traveling with anyone?" Antonio asked impatiently.

Josie glared at him. Jin just said. "Can I finish?"

"Sorry."

"4 tickets were purchased with her credit card…" He brought up the security footage. "And here they are… her and her friends getting off the plane."

Antonio sighed. Josie knew the pain he was feeling. Their oldest children were only a couple years younger than Amber and her friends.

"You think they're all mules?" Jin asked.

Josie patted his shoulder. "Yeah… pretty sure they are… and we're gonna have to find them… if the condoms they swallowed are like the ones that Amber swallowed, we're looking at 3 other potential ODs."

"Good luck." Jin printed off the information on the girls. "Hope this all helps."

Antonio thanked him. "Let's go share the info… see if we can't get these girls before they OD too."

Josie nodded. "Thanks, Jin."

Together they headed upstairs. Antonio put the other girls' pictures and names on the board. "So, our girl in the ER is Amber Morris."

"Amber and her 3 friends are all undergrads at CCU… this is who we're looking for." Josie said.

Erin had them join her around her computer. "This is Amber's Facebook page… there's pictures of them living it up in Cabo, but not just from this trip… Amber's been down there twice in the last three months."

"So, first time she did the run herself, this time… she recruited friends." Josie groaned. She'd seen cases like this in New Orleans. Most of the time, they didn't end well. "We gotta assume all these girls are mules and ingested the same type of balloons packed with coke."

Jin appeared around the corner. "I ran down the other girls' addresses. They all live on campus."

Voight nodded. "We gotta move. Let's go!" The others were halfway down the stairs when he stopped Jay. "You like working in this unit? You keep it in your pants."

Josie was frozen on the staircase. She had come back to get her jacket and she was about to witness her dad go at it with Jay.

Jay didn't lose his cool. "I didn't know it was out."

"Erin's off-limits… end of discussion."

Josie didn't need Jay to get into it with her dad when the case they were working was so time sensitive. She ran back into the bullpen, putting an end to the tension and allowing Jay to leave.

Josie and Antonio went to one room, while the others split up to check on the other three girls. No one was answering the door. Antonio tried the door and it was unlocked.

"They had to have made it back." Josie pointed to the luggage in the corner.

"Yeah, but where the hell is she?" Antonio asked.

They were leaving the dorm room when Voight came over the radios. "We're looking for two white males… could still be in the area. They got our girls… and one of them is definitely going through the same thing as Amber."

Josie and Antonio exchanged panicked glances. They looked around them to see where they could've gone. They were making their way to the garage when a woman screamed. Antonio took off. Josie radioed it in. Her heart raced when she heard an engine rev and tires screech. She ran into the garage to see Antonio picking himself up off the ground.

"Antonio!" The others were coming in from the outside of the garage.

"Babe!" She ran to him. "You okay?"

He nodded. "Had to dive out of the way… they're in a black panel van."

"Fuck." Josie spat. "This isn't good."

"You're telling me." Antonio rubbed his shoulder. "Let's get back to the District."

Voight assigned Erin and Jay to go to the hospital and see if Amber was awake. The others headed to their vehicles and headed back to 21.

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It didn't take long before they had some information on the van. Erin and Jay had gotten names from Amber.

"Investigative alert out on Sean and Brendan Collins." Voight said after ending the call with Erin and handed his notepad to Josie. "They're the dealers we're looking for."

"Sean's the boyfriend." Josie said. "Amber told Erin that he and his brother hang out at a tattoo shop… Underground Ink."

"That's where they'll sling the product." Antonio said.

"Al, Ruzek… you two… stake out on that tattoo parlour." Voight said.

Al nodded, grabbed Adam by the arm and they headed to get what they'd need for a stakeout.

Antonio was going through the medical report on Amber when Platt came up the stairs. "The girl who's in the hospital… Amber Morris… her mother's downstairs."

Antonio didn't look up from her computer. "All right, bring her up."

Josie looked between Antonio and Platt. She knew they had some history as they'd been partners before she'd been made to disappear. She could also tell Platt was not impressed with Antonio's answer.

"I'm assuming that's Spanish for 'you're gonna go down there and get her yourself'." Platt snipped before turning on her heel and going back downstairs.

Antonio looked to Josie. "What did I say?"

"Really?" Jo asked. "Wow…" She headed downstairs to get Mrs. Morris.

Antonio shook his head and went to the kitchen so they could interview Mrs. Morris without making her extremely uncomfortable.

It didn't take long before Mrs. Morris played the denial card. "I'm telling you, Detectives… my daughter had nothing to do with this."

"Ma'am… they cut 30 condoms packed with cocaine out of your daughter's stomach." Josie said.

"We're pretty sure she had something to do with it." Antonio added.

"Someone had to have forced her. You need to go after them."

"The way it looks," Josie tried to ease into this. "is Amber did this of her own free will."

"That's not possible. Amber's a good student! She just made the Dean's list."

Antonio shook his head. "She did this for money, Mrs. Morris." He sighed. "We know this is hard for to hear… to believe… but kids… go off to college. They get away from their parents. Sometimes they get mixed up in bad things."

"What's going to happen to her?"

Josie stepped in. "She's been cooperative so far… we'll talk to the State's Attorney… try to keep her out of jail."

Mrs. Morris hung her head and sobbed.

Josie took her hand. "We have three daughters… two teens and an infant…" She looked to Antonio. "We worry about them… when they're out with friends… or hanging out with boys… but… you can't watch them every second."

"At least Amber's alive." Antonio whispered.

Mrs. Morris looked to them. "How do you do this?"

"I'm not sure I understand." Josie replied.

"You're married, you've got kids… how can you still do this job."

Antonio sighed. "It's not easy… especially seeing the things we see… but, we also know that there are people like us out there trying to stop these kinds of things from happening."

"Thank you…" Mrs. Morris sniffled. "Thank you for helping her… would I be able to see her?"

"Oh, of course." Josie said. "I'll have a couple officers take you to Chicago Med."

Antonio and Josie watched as Burgess and Atwater led Mrs. Morris down the stairs to take her to see her daughter. Antonio leaned against the doorway and sighed. "Jo, I don't know what I'm gonna do when our kids go off to college."

"You'll be fine."

"How did you handle it when Zoë was in Paris for school?"

"My mom was with her." Josie reminded him.

"Yeah, but still…"

"Look, part of this comes down to how that child is raised, and I'd like to think that we've raised all of our children right and that they wouldn't do this… but like you said… kids change once they're away from their parents."

Antonio shook his head. "I don't know… look at you… you turned out amazing and then your half-brother…"

"I don't think that had to do with how Hank or Camille raised him… that comes from his own bad decisions."

Antonio pulled her into his arms. "How did I ever get so lucky?"

Josie arched an eyebrow. "For?"

"Having you in my life." He kissed her.

"I believe you can thank Gaby for that." She chuckled.

"Hey, will you two stop locking lips?" Jay said walking by them. "Voight's got a plan."

"Duty calls." Josie reluctantly pulled herself away from her husband's embrace.

Antonio nodded and followed her to the bullpen.

Voight was standing in front of the board. He handed Antonio a file. "So… The Collins Brothers. They're thugs from Bridgeport. Both have extensive records for armed robbery & aggravated battery."

"So… they've graduated to drug smuggling using naïve college girls." Josie said disgustedly. "Great… they're gonna regret that when I my hands on them."

"Get in line." Erin said. She was definitely taking this particular case personally.

Josie had a strong suspicion that it was because she'd been through something similar as a teen. She hadn't ever asked her about it but she'd heard enough through the grapevine. She also knew that Hank thought of Erin as a daughter. They had a special bond that even she didn't have and Hank was her biological father.

"Cool it." Hank said. "Both of you. Had unis check out their LKAs… they're in the wind. DMV search says that Brendan Collins owns a black Ford van…"

"I'm assuming that these two bozos are using burner phones now… especially since they know Amber's been arrested." Antonio said.

Jin nodded. "Yep. Unis found their personal phones in the trash outside their LKA…"

"Keep digging." Voight said to him. "Get me any known associates. We need everything we can get on these two if we have any hope of getting those other girls back alive." He turned back to his office.

Erin looked to Jay before following him and closing the door.

"Wanna talk about what the hell is going on between you and Erin?" Antonio asked.

Jay shook his head. "Nope."

Josie joined Antonio at Jay's desk. "What's up?"

"Something's going on between Jay and Erin… they've both been uppity since we were at the gym… and she brought Justin along."

Josie looked to Jay. "What did you say?"

"What makes you thing I said something?" Jay asked.

"Men generally are the ones who make stupid comments." Josie said.

"All I did was say hi to your brother and offer to shake his hand. He looked at my hand as if it was a viper ready to attack him."

"Jay… he's fighting his own demons after getting out of prison." Jo reminded him.

"I get that, but I'm being civil."

Josie blew her bangs out of her eyes. "Ever think that Justin has a crush on Erin and he's jealous of you?"

"What? We're not dating."

Antonio could see where Josie was going with this. They both knew that Justin liked Erin, but she would never see him that way. "No, but you work with her every day and closely… you're friendly with her. Anyone with two eyes in their head can see you like her… hell, pretty sure a blind man could see it."

"Hey, I found Brendan Collins' van."

Antonio nodded. "Tell Voight."

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* * *

Since, Al and Adam were staking out the tattoo parlour, the others headed out to try and catch Brendan Collins in hopes that he'd lead them to the girls.

"Alright, Jin. Work your magic." Antonio said over the radios.

Josie, Antonio and Voight were in one vehicle while Jay and Erin were in the Chrysler 300.

"Stand by." Jin replied. "Let me get comfy."

"We got eyes on the van yet?" Voight grunted.

"Said I'm getting comfy." Jin said.

Voight's body language said he was losing patience.

"Okay… got eyes on 'em… coming up 76th towards Western. He turned into an alley…. Heading south towards 77th..

"We're on it." Erin radioed in. "Got a visual!"

They were all in pursuit.

"Box it in!" Voight bellowed.

Suddenly there was a horn blaring and a huge crash as a large truck crashed right into Collins' van. Intelligence's vehicles screeched to a halt. Lindsay and Josie were the first ones out onto the scene.

"Sir, are you okay?" Erin asked.

The truck driver nodded, but was clearly shaken. "Yeah… I… I didn't see that guy."

Jay went over to him to talk to him.

Erin, Josie and Antonio moved on the van. Brendan Collins' head was through the windshield.

"5020 Lincoln… Emergency… roll an ambo to 7320 Western." Josie radioed in.

"He's toast." Antonio said.

"The girls!" Voight shouted.

They went around the van. They pulled open the back doors, terrified to see bloodied bodies, but the van was empty.

Jay came from the front of the van. "He had a 9 mil and throwaway phone."

"No trace of the coke… or the girls." Antonio said.

"So, every second that goes by… the less chance those girls survive."

"We're well aware of that, Erin." Antonio's temper was starting to flare.

"Hey!" Josie got between the two of them.

"Everybody stay cool." Voight ordered. He pointed to the phone that Jay had handed to Antonio. "Get that phone to Jin, ASAP." He turned to Jay. "You're coming with me."

"Where are you going?" Josie asked.

"Higher up the family tree." Voight slammed his SUV's door.

Once Jay was in the vehicle, it tore off down the street, leaving Antonio, Josie and Erin alone on the street with a dead body and a shaken truck driver.

"Now what?" Erin asked.

"We get this phone to Jin and try and find these girls that way." Josie said. "Antonio… can you stay until Patrol shows up… I'll come back for you?"

Antonio nodded. He knew that Jo wanted to talk to Erin about what's been going on with Jay and Justin. "I'll be fine."

Josie climbed into the passenger side of the 300 and Erin got behind the wheel. Antonio could only hope that Josie could get to the bottom of this. There was only so much more they could both take before the Voight family drama started impacting their work life as well as their personal lives. Antonio loved Dixie, but he didn't want his mother-in-law to move in with them.

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* * *

"So, what's going on with you and Hank?" Josie wasn't going to beat around the bush.

"What?" Erin turned down a side street to avoid an accident that was blocking the regular route back to the District.

"Antonio said something happened at the gym… Jay's acting weird… and then you and Hank are giving each other looks… not to mention the conversation I heard Jay and Hank having."

"What conversation?"

"Hank told Jay to keep it in his pants."

Erin pounded on the steering wheel. "I don't want you and Antonio getting dragged into this."

"Erin… I get that Hank and Camille took you in and they're the reason you've gotten to where you are, but I'm his daughter, whether or not he knew about me for the last 30 years… he's marrying my mom and whatever is going on between Justin, you and my dad… it's already impacting us. My mom's been staying at our place because Dad hasn't had time to spend with her to finalize wedding plans. We may not have been around a long time, and I get he's my dad… but Mama comes first and if this is hurting her, I'm not about to stand by to let that happen."

"Justin has a crush on me."

"I got that much."

"He thinks Jay and I are together."

"We got that too." Josie sighed. "Is he slipping?"

"I don't know. He's pissed that Hank got him into the CTA… I don't know."

"Erin, what can we do to help?"

"I don't think there's anything any of us can do to help… Justin doesn't seem to want any of our help." Erin pulled into the parking lot. "I just don't want Hank to go down the road he tried taking the first-time Justin really got into trouble."

"Antonio and Gaby filled me in on that. Justin had been drinking, hit a dad and his son on the way towards a hockey game. Son ended up paralysed."

"Yep… and Hank went after Matt Casey to make him withdraw his report stating that Justin had alcohol in the car." Erin sighed. "Antonio had to arrest him in a sting operation. Look, you're in the hardest place… you married the best Detective in the District, and your father is one of the best cops in the city… and they've always butted heads."

"Erin, you've gotta get through to Justin at some point… it's gonna tear apart this team. I swear, Dad's about ready to transfer Jay to another unit."

Erin's phone chimed. "Speaking of Justin." She showed Josie the text.

"He left his wallet in here?" Josie turned around and sure enough, a black men's wallet was on the floor on the back seat. "Shit."

"So, whatta ya want me to do?" Erin asked.

"Tell him to come get it… you talk to him… tell him that Jay's your work partner… and that he's gotta stop messing with Dad… tell him that it's ruining a lot of things, not just him."

Erin nodded. She typed in a message and hit 'send'. "Let's see if Jin can't get us anything off that phone."

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* * *

Antonio had hitched a ride back to the District with some of the Patrolmen. They hadn't found anything that could point them to where they were keeping the girls. He headed up the stairs to the bullpen. He passed Erin as she was running back down the stairs. He went to Josie's desk. "Jo, where's Erin headed in such a rush?"

"Justin left his wallet in her car after they went to the gym this morning."

"Ah." Antonio hung his jacket up. "Did you talk to her?"

Josie nodded. "Yep. I told her she has to solve this shit because I won't stand by and let it keep ruining our work life and our personal lives. She can fix this, or my brother is going to be dealing with me."

"Southern sass still runs through your veins, huh?" Antonio smiled. "Well, anything on the burner cell?"

"Jin's still working on it." Josie grabbed her cell from her pocket. "Dad?"

"Jay's texting you guys an address… meet us there." Hank ended the call.

"What?"

"We gotta roll… and Dad's being pissy with me."

"We need to talk to him." Antonio grabbed his jacket.

"I'M going to talk to him." Josie holstered her gun. "If I need backup… I'll ask, okay?"

Antonio nodded. "Whatever you say, babe." They ran down the stairs, catching Erin as she was coming back up to the bullpen.

They arrived at a warehouse. There was no sign of movement. Antonio busted down the door. "CPD!"

They did a quick sweep of the warehouse, but they found no one.

Antonio looked around them. "Half the swag from Midway has to be here."

"No shit." Josie whistled. "Someone should be calling Robbery down here… or Major Crimes."

"Guys!" Jay's voice came from down a hallway.

Josie, Antonio and Voight ran towards them.

"Megan Benson." Jay whispered.

Josie gasped at the sight. Megan's body was laid out on a table and she had been gutted. "Jesus Christ!"

"Girl was 19!" Antonio exclaimed. "Still in school! Fuck!" He hit a wall.

"Why do only one?" Jay asked. "Where are the other two?"

"We're not dealing with a pro." Voight sighed. "Collins' got squeamish and ran."

Josie got closer. She wasn't squeamish. "Whoever cut into her… cut into the balloons."

The coroner appeared at that point. After a quick exam, she agreed with Josie. "Detective Dawson's right… they cut straight into the balloons… the cocaine's been destroyed."

"Thanks." Voight shook her hand. He made his way down the street to his SUV. He stopped to check his phone.

"No way that Collins' can afford this to happen to the other two girls." Erin said.

"Look, I got business to take care of." Voight said after rejoining them. "See if Jin's got anything yet." He took off, leaving the rest of the team wondering what the hell had just happened.

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* * *

"Jin, please… please tell me you've got something." Josie pleaded. They needed something. One girl was in hospital, another was in the morgue and they still had two girls missing, who were ticking timebombs.

"There were only two numbers in it. One was the prepaid cell that was Sean's… it's dead and Patrol found it in a dumpster… but the second number, I tracked to this guy." Jin taped a picture of a white male to the board. "Ryan Porter."

Jay took the file. "Male, white… 26… Long sheet for possession."

Erin peaked over Jay's shoulder. "Worked as a paramedic for 3 different ambulance companies, and got fired from all of them."

Antonio's head shot up. "I know that M.O… 10 to 1, Porter's a play doctor."

"A what?" Josie asked.

"I busted a few back in my Vice days. They're EMTs who work for private ambulance companies. They barely make ten bucks an hour… so the ones who want to make more, sometimes will provide under the table services like patching up gangbangers and such."

"Shit." Josie knew what that meant. This guy was a crooked paramedic who was using his training for corrupt acts versus the good they were meant to do. She looked to Jay. "Forward Porter's picture to Al and Ruzek… they need to be on the lookout for this guy. We're burning all their main hideouts, they'll have to circle back there eventually."

A couple hours passed, Voight rejoined them and they were going through different scenarios on how to get the girls back. Al's voice came through their radios. Collins, Porter and the two girls were there. Everyone dropped what they were doing and booked it out of the District.

By the time they got there, there wasn't much to do. Al was fuming. Antonio and Josie suspected that Adam, being a brash rookie, had stormed in without waiting for the backup to arrive. Paramedics were loading the girls up and taking them to Med. Patrol was bringing Porter to a squad while Al had Collins. Erin lost it on Collins. Hank had to hold her back.

"Erin, Erin…" Hank and Al pulled her away from Collins. "Come on."

Hank reassured her. "Don't worry… we'll make sure this guy gets buried." He smacked Collins outside the head. "You hear that, huh? You listening, you're done." They handed him off to be loaded into a patrol car. Hank then went over to Burgess & Atwater to congratulate them on the work they'd done.

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* * *

Josie waited for her father to arrive in his office. They needed to talk, and she'd wait as long as she had to to have that conversation. She was texting Antonio to check on the kids when Hank sauntered back into his office. "Dad." She stood up.

"Josie… what's wrong?" Hank stopped in his tracks.

"We need to talk, Dad… like tonight… now." Josie hoped that this wasn't about to ruin her relationship that she was just starting with him, but she couldn't take the drama anymore.

Hank hung up his jacket and sat at his desk. "Okay." He sighed. "How long you been waiting?"

"Since Porter and Collins were sent to holding."

"Jo… the kids."

"Antonio went straight home. If he had had his way, he'd be having this talk instead of me."

Hank grunted. He respected Antonio and he knew he was a damn good cop, but having him as a son-in-law was making life a little more challenging. "Okay, so let's talk."

"Dad, what the hell is going on around here?"

Hank shrugged. "Not sure what you're talking about."

"Dad… come on… there's a hostile work environment between you, Erin and Jay… Justin is pissed off at the world, taking it out on you and now, it's being taken out on the rest of us."

Hank sighed. "I'm tryin, Josie… I really am."

"Not hard enough, Dad… Mom's been staying at our place. She thinks you don't want to marry her anymore."

Hank's head shot straight up. "What?! No! That's… no! Josie, I want to marry your mother… I just have to help Justin get everything straight."

"Dad… the kid's 22… he's an adult… you can't keep diggin' him out… he'll never learn to work on his own."

"Josie…"

"Dad, I know exactly what it's like to be a parent… I've got 5 kids… the twins are teens, Eva is 13… I get it… I get that you want to make sure he can reach the stars, but unless he wants it, Dad… you're doing a lot of work for nothing. You can't help someone who doesn't want it."

Hank leaned back in his chair. He knew that Josie had a point. He felt that he was dragging Justin out of a hole instead of helping him climb out on his own. "What do you think I should do?"

"I think you need to let Justin fail… if he needs to hit rock bottom again to learn how to be a contributing member of society, then so be it." Josie said. "I don't want him to go back to prison or anything, but he needs to learn that he can't have you constantly bailing out. He needs to learn that he's an adult and he has to be accountable to his own actions."

Hank groaned and rubbed his jaw. "I don't know how to do that. For the longest time, it was just me and him."

"I know that, Dad… but he's driving a wedge between you and the rest of the family and he's interfering with how this team works… he's got you questioning Jay, when you know damn well that there's nothing going on between him and Erin."

"How can you be so sure? You have to see the way they stare at each other."

"So?!" Josie threw her arms up in the air. "Antonio and I are MARRIED… we give each other similar looks and we don't let our personal life interfere with the JOB. Dad, you have to trust all of us on your team… otherwise, Internal Affairs will pick us apart, one by one."

"What do you know about Internal Affairs?" Hank asked.

"I'm not stupid, Dad… I know that they're butting their nose in here because you're out of prison. I don't know the how or the why, but I also don't care. I know you're a damn good cop, and I know that you're the best chance we have to keep Intelligence from falling to rat shit, but I also know that IA isn't going to just slink back into the shadows because you're a good cop."

Hank grunted. "You're wiser than your years."

Josie shook her head. "No, I'm being practical. Tell me how I can help, please?"

"I asked Erin to keep an eye on him… you know, so he wouldn't think I didn't trust him."

"You don't trust him, though." Josie said. "If you did, you wouldn't be keeping tabs on him or having Erin babysit him."

"I don't want him to get locked up again." Hank's voice echoed his pain.

"Dad," She reached across the desk and took his hand. "I know that, and none of us want to see that see either, but _he_ has to want that too."

Hank nodded. "Is Dixie still at your place?"

"As far as I know… We've been trying to help her with wedding stuff, but she wants you there to help too." Josie squeezed his hand.

Hank nodded. "Okay, I'll come pick her up… and I'll do my best to help plan the wedding."

"Have you talked to Justin?" Josie asked.

"Not yet, I went to Erin's… and I asked her to look into this guy." He handed her his cell.

"I've never seen this guy."

"Justin's supervisor said he never showed for training today."

"Kinda hard because his wallet was in the back of Erin's car." Josie told him.

"You talked to Erin?"

"Yep… after we chased Brendan Collins down."

"Jo."

"No, Dad… I can't just stand by and let this happen."

"You're more like your mother than you know." Hank sighed. "This guy was Justin's cellmate in Statesville. He's bad news."

"I get that, and I'm pretty sure that Justin knows that too. So, you have to let him choose what life he wants, okay?"

Hank nodded. "Yeah… gonna be harder said than done though."

"I get that, Dad… I do, but we need to get going tonight, or else, I'm crashing on your couch."

Hank chuckled. "Okay, okay. Let's go, kiddo."

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Antonio locked the door after bidding Hank and Dixie a good night. He leaned against the door. "What the hell did you tell him?"

"That Justin has to learn to sink or swim on his own, because every time Dad tries to save him, he's telling Justin he doesn't have to be accountable for his choices."

"Well… that's the truth."

"Exactly. I also reminded him that despite being his daughter, I've raised twins on my own for a while, and we have 5 children at home now. Being parents to teens is almost the same thing as having a son who acts like a teen despite being an adult."

"You really weren't kidding when you said that you wanted to resolve this." Antonio pulled her into his arms.

"No, I was not." Josie stood on her tippy toes to kiss him. "I know that I missed out on actually having family drama for 15 years, but I really don't need it all piling up at once now. I don't need to make up for lost time in that department."

"I get that." Antonio brushed her hair from her eyes. "Bed?"

"Yes, please." She sighed. "I'm beat… I think I could sleep for the next week."

That thought was ruptured when Grace's piercing scream echoed down the stairs.

"Hold that thought." She said. "I'll go take care of Grace."

Antonio watched as Josie made her way up the stairs to the nursery. She was something else. He watched as she went into the nursery to calm their crying infant daughter. He made his way up the stairs and watched from the doorway. Josie was sitting in the rocking chair in the corner, gently rocking Grace back to sleep. He leaned against the doorway and smiled as Josie recited "Love You Forever" off by heart. He knew that Josie stood for family before anything else, and that whatever was going on between Voight and Justin wasn't going to interfere with their lives much longer.

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 _ **A/N: I know it's been a long time coming and you've all been extremely patient. More to come soon. Updating all the 'novel' type stories, then heading over to work on some Brettonio stories. Let me know what you think!**_

 _ **Cheers, Nicole**_


	16. Something Big

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Josie had been enjoying the peace and quiet of the pre-dawn hours. She'd gotten up to feed Grace and in the process, had accidently woken Antonio. She told him that she'd feed Grace and be right back. He stopped her and got out of bed.

"I'll feed her this time, you… rest… after that thing with your dad… I think I can feed our daughter."

Josie just sighed and leaned back into her pillows. She knew that Antonio had been feeling as if he wasn't doing enough at home, but with what was going on with work, she had understood. She had to laugh when he came back to the room with a little bit of spit up on his shoulder. "Forgot the burp cloth?"

Antonio nodded. "Yep… consequence of a pre-dawn feeding." He went into the bathroom and wiped it off. He tossed the towel in the hamper, along with his pajama pants and came back to bed. He pulled her into his arms. "This is nice."

"It is. We don't get a lot of this alone time."

"5 kids does make that a little bit challenging." He kissed her.

"Just remember… the twins will be out of the house and off to college in a couple years."

"Don't remind me." He cringed. "I'll have missed so much and then have them here for a short time before they're all grown up."

"Antonio, none of this was in our control." She stroked his jaw. "You know that if we'd have had our way, we would've been married for almost 20 years instead of only finding each other now."

Antonio moaned softly as her hand went from his jawline to his chest. "Jo… the kids."

"Are sound asleep." Her voice almost a purr.

Antonio was about to say something else but Josie disappeared under the sheets and her mouth quickly enveloped his cock. He bit his lip, a primal growl barely escaped his lips.

Josie knowing that they hadn't really had a lot of time for themselves lately focused on him knowing that he'd return the favour. She alternated between sucking and stroking. She gasped in surprise as Antonio pulled away from her and pinned her against the bed. He kissed her lips, almost crushing them, while lifting her nightshirt. His nimble hands made quick work of her underwear, tossing them off to the side. He slid two fingers in her.

"Babe, you're all wet."

Josie managed a weak "Mhmm."

He grabbed her hips and positioned himself between her legs. As he slid into her wet heat, he pulled her up against him. Josie instinctively wrapped her legs and arms around him. Antonio rocked as the two made their way to climax.

"Antonio!" Josie exclaimed before he covered her mouth with his.

They froze, wrapped in each other's passion as they climaxed hard. Josie collapsed back into the pillows while Antonio carefully rolled off of her. They lied there, just trying to catch their breath and slow their racing hearts.

After a few minutes, Antonio leaned over her and kissed her, gentler before. "That… wow."

Josie giggled. "I'll say, Detective."

"We really should do that more often."

"Between keeping my mom and dad's wedding on track, hunting the scum of Chicago and making sure our five children behave?" Josie snickered. "Sure. I think I can schedule that in somewhere in my 26-hour day."

"Just remember that when we both need a caffeine drip IV today."

Josie looked over at the clock on the nightstand. "We still have an hour before we actually have to get up."

"Are you hinting at something?" He asked.

"Maybe." She teased.

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* * *

"Hank?" Dixie called from the kitchen. "Breakfast is ready."

"Yeah, we'll be right down."

Dixie went about setting the table. Justin had just come back from his graveyard shift. While she understood that Hank was wanting to help Justin get back on his feet, she was starting to wonder if her future step-son was really wanting to make something of himself now. She knew that Josie had talked to Hank about it but she wondered if Hank had truly listened.

Hank checked in on Justin. "Another graveyard tonight?"

Justin looked up from his workout. "Yeah, Pop."

"Justin, I… I know you hate this CTA gig, but it's only temporary. I just… I don't want you getting in with the wrong crowds again or bad…"

"I love you, Dad… I really do."

"Everything okay, Justin?"

Justin wiped his face. "Yeah… I can't tell you I love you?"

"No, you can…" Hank stopped. He reached into his pocket for his cell. "Yeah, okay… yeah." He looked to Justin.

Justin knew what that look meant. "You gotta go."

"Yeah."

Justin sighed. "Okay." He made his way to the bench press that Hank had had installed for him to work out.

"Justin, Dixie made breakfast… go have some and get to know her… then you can rest before your next shift."

"Yeah, uh… I can cook for myself, Pop."

"Justin, you will respect her. Not saying you have to like her, but you will respect her."

"Pop, I had one mom… I don't need another one."

"You don't really get a say in this." Hank crossed his arms. "I love her, and I'm marrying her."

"So, you never loved Mom?"

"No, I did… I always will… the same way Dixie loved her first husband… but we are happy together, and we want this second chance… companionship… one day, you'll find that girl and you'll understand what I'm talking about."

"Sure, Pop."

"Just… please respect her?"

"I'll try."

Hank sighed and made his way to the kitchen. "Morning, Dixie."

Dixie handed him a travel mug filled with coffee the way he liked it. "Josie called… you have a case?"

Hank sighed. "Yeah, bad one."

She reached behind him on the counter. "Breakfast sandwich to go."

"Dixie, I could grab something on the way."

"You could, but it wouldn't be as good or healthy as what I made you." She kissed him. "Things okay with Justin?"

"Yeah, still adjusting." He smiled. "If… just let me know if he gives you heck?"

"Don't worry about me… go clean up our streets… and make sure our daughter and our son-in-law get home to their children in one piece, please?"

"I'll do my best." He kissed her and grabbed his keys. "I'll call you later to let you know how it's going." He put on his jacket. "You gonna be watching Gracie today?"

"Uh, no… Antonio's mom is headed there now… she hasn't gotten to spend a lot of time with the kids lately."

"Ah." He grabbed his breakfast and coffee. "I love you."

"Love you." She blew him a kiss and watched as he headed to his SUV. She looked up to the staircase and sighed. She knew Justin wasn't going to be coming down for breakfast. She served herself and sat down with the paper.

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* * *

"Same as before?" Voight asked Antonio as he got on scene.

Antonio nodded grimly. "Her name's Charlotte Matthews… everything matches the victim from a couple days ago."

Josie walked up to them. "This guy is a monster."

They were interrupted when Commander Perry joined them.

"Commander." They nodded.

"Raped?" Perry asked.

They nodded.

"Ear was cut off?"

"That's right, sir." Josie said softly.

"There were two rape-murders in New York 6 months ago, similar to this." Voight stepped forward. "We've been in contact with detectives there."

Commander Perry looked at the covered body. He looked to Voight. "There are 600 reasons why I didn't want you to run this unit, but there's one main reason I did… cases like this. You understand me?"

Hank nodded. "I do."

"Then find these bastards and get them off my streets." Commander Perry stomped off.

He turned to Josie and Antonio. "Let's get back to the District… I got a call to make."

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* * *

Josie and Antonio had returned to the bullpen around the time Jay was questioning Al's choice in reading materials. That quickly turned to Jay busting Al's balls by teasing him about his age. Josie just shook her head. Their mood was about to change drastically.

"Oh, my God." Erin gasped as Josie and Antonio put up the information on their latest victim. "These poor girls."

"Media's taken to calling him the 'Riverwalk Killer'." Antonio sighed.

Voight came out of his office. "Mayor's flipping out. Superintendent is getting it from him and dishing it out to the Chief and so forth. None… absolutely none of that matters to me. Two young women are dead and were put through something so horrific…" He looked at the board. "It ain't about to happen again… not in my city."

"There's no witnesses." Ruzek piped up, but instantly regretted opening his mouth when the rest of the team just glared at him.

They went over what they didn't have. Finally, Voight revealed his wild card. "Detectives from Special Victims' in New York are flying out right now to help us."

"Why do we need them for?" Ruzek asked, earning him more glares and a smack in the back of the head, this time from Antonio.

"Rookie, at this point, we will take all the help we can get to get this bastard down." Antonio snapped. "If you can't say anything helpful, don't speak."

Ruzek looked to Al but he only got a shrug in return. Josie felt for Ruzek. He was the eager rookie who wanted to prove his worth. Josie had been there, and she knew every other cop in that bullpen had been that way too. Only difference was, they'd worked their asses off to get up here. Some had put their lives on the line to get there. Adam had it easy. He had been hand picked out of the Academy before graduation. He was going to have to learn, but sadly it looked like he was taking the hard route over just listening to the wisdom of the rest of the more experienced cops.

Voight huffed. "They had 2 victims killed in their Riverwalk. Same MO. Their cams managed to pick up a male, white about 5'10 wearing a hoodie following both victims before their bodies were found."

"Any facial rec?" Jin asked.

Voight shook his head. "They never managed to get a clear shot of his face."

"Sex offenders?" Erin asked.

"Nothing's popped." Josie said. "I've extended the branch nation-wide, but nada."

"Doesn't help that we don't have DNA." Jay added. "No DNA, nothing to match it too even if there was some hit in the system."

"Hey, we ain't waiting for that." Voight snapped. "I don't wanna look down on someone else's daughter again." He looked to the board then back to his team. "We're getting proactive. Boots, on the ground. Every single one of us is going to the river. UC, don't care how, don't care doing what, or who you'll be, but we're all down there."

With that, the team broke up. Everyone went to plan exactly how they'd be undercover. Antonio already knew he'd be a city worker. He always went that route for these types of situations. He also knew that until they got a receptionist upstairs, they'd need someone to man the phones. He headed downstairs to see if Platt could spare him a patrolman. He spotted Kim Burgess. "Hey, Burgess!" He called her over. "I need a favour."

"Sure thing." She replied eagerly. "Anything!"

"We're all going UC… we need someone manning the phones in Intelligence." He knew that Burgess wanted to move up to Intelligence someday. She may as well get a hint of what it's like. "It's a heater case… expect a bunch of calls."

"Yeah. Yeah." Burgess was definitely a little eager beaver. "I'm all over it."

Antonio patted her shoulder before running back up the stairs to Intelligence. "Thanks!"

* * *

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* * *

Josie had pulled some strings with Hank. She had Dixie bring Grace to the Riverwalk. She could watch from one of the benches near the playground while helping her mom with the baby. No one would suspect a mom, grandma and baby. Antonio was being a city worker. Erin was jogging around. Jay was biking, but slowly, pretending to take in the sights. Voight and Jin were in the van overseeing the whole operation. The van was disguised as a city vehicle and parked near where Antonio was 'working'. Adam was taking in the sights on the bridge while Al was actually in a suit pretending to be a business man on a lunch break.

"Whoever is panting in the mic, you're killing me." Adam whined over their earpieces.

"Bite me, Adam." Lindsay snipped. "Been doing this for an hour."

"Can you two just can it?" Josie asked. "Seriously."

Antonio chuckled. He knew that Josie was comparing Adam and Erin's bickering to their teenaged children. He moved some pylons around. "Hey, boss. Something on the ramp."

Voight and Jin worked on getting an image. It was grainy. Voight put the order through to get people moving that way.

Josie was closest. She got up and started pushing the stroller in that direction. Jay had started pedaling a little faster to get closer. Antonio and Ruzek were higher up. They were in position for a take-down if he moved towards the stairs leading out of the Riverwalk.

Voight's voice came through the earpiece. "Male, white, brown hoodie."

Suddenly, Mr. Hoodie grabbed a purse from an unsuspecting woman and started to run. Josie stopped the stroller and took off on foot. Erin was running towards them. Jay jumped off the bike to tackle the guy.

"Police!"

"Stop!"

Erin and Josie stopped to help the woman whose purse he grabbed as she'd been knocked to the ground.

Jay and Antonio nabbed the guy.

"Stop moving!" Jay barked.

"I'm gonna crack you in a second here, pal. Stop moving!" Antonio slapped the cuffs on him. "Give me your other hand."

"Offender in custody." Jay radioed in.

The others quickly joined them.

When Voight joined them, Antonio handed him the perp's wallet. "Theo Mitchell. Don't think he's our guy."

"Based on?" Voight arched an eyebrow. This guy fit the physical description provided by SVU.

Jay pointed to the stash they'd pulled from Theo's pockets that they'd laid out on the hood of Antonio's UC car. "Found 4 wallets and 3 watches on him."

Antonio looked back to his father-in-law. "Guy's a pickpocket… purse snatcher." He handed Voight the record Jin had managed to pull on the guy. "Four arrests in the last decade for those types of crimes. Never rape, murder, not even peeping."

Theo's eyes bulged. "What?!"

"Whatta you think?" Josie asked.

"Bring him in." Voight nodded to Antonio.

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* * *

"Think he's good for it?" Erin asked Voight from the viewing room as Antonio and Josie questioned Theo.

"Not sure… probably not. Guys don't just go from pickpocketing to murder and rape overnight." Voight rubbed his chin.

"True… but if that's what you're thinking, why bring him in?" Erin pushed.

"Think about it." Jay piped up. "Guy works the area… he's a people watcher… he knows what to watch for to make an easy mark."

"Boy toy got it." Voight nodded. He motioned to the interrogation room.

Theo was insisting he wasn't their guy. "This is railroading, man. I would never, ever hurt a woman."

"We're inclined to believe you." Antonio replied.

"Then what the fuck am I doing here… getting looked at these horrible crimes?!"

Josie whipped out the Southern charm. "Look, your turf is the Riverwalk… right?"

Theo calmed down. "Yeah."

"It's a pretty fertile ground for you, right? Lots of tourists, people getting fresh air… that kinda thing?"

"Yeah."

Josie arched an eyebrow. "Cher, why do you think we have you in here?"

"To threaten me with rape and murder, only to get me to boosting wallets and shit because it's milder." He tried to get up. "Not happening. I'm outta here."

Antonio pushed him back down into his chair while Josie just shook her head. "No… no, you're not."

Antonio sat next to his wife. "Since you basically live there, you know, sizing them up… figuring out who the best mark to rip off is… We're actually hoping you'll help us ID the monsters who actually did rape and murder those girls."

"Our experience is that the cheetah always knows where the hyena is." Josie smirked.

"I like that analogy… you speak jungle."

They knew at that moment they had him. Now, it was just the waiting game to see if he'd actually provide them with a lead.

He went through his morning. "5 am… this dude, he was in full running gear, but he never actually ran… just stayed put while stretching… looking around."

Antonio scoffed when Theo suggested that the running man was either a criminal or a cop. Theo just kept talking to Josie. "I've never seen a cop with a watch that nice."

Josie was taking notes on what Theo was telling them. She wanted to make sure they didn't miss a single detail to bring this guy down.

"How close did you get?" Antonio asked. He thought this was just a big waste of time.

"Real close." Theo glared at Antonio before turning his attention back to Josie. "I walked right by the guy. I could describe him to one of those sketch artists."

Josie smiled. "We'll be right back." She patted Antonio on the shoulder. They left Theo to stew while they went to find someone to come work on a composite.

"Whatta ya think?" Voight asked them.

"He's not our guy." Antonio said. "But I believe that he saw him."

"Anyone around to help with a composite?" Josie asked.

"Jin can probably help out." Voight stroked his chin. "The New York detectives are here… let's get some of their input."

* * *

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* * *

Hank greeted the team from NYC. "I'm Sergeant Hank Voight… this is my team." He let them introduce themselves. "These are Detectives Rollins and Tutuola."

"Antonio Dawson." He shook their hands.

Josie extended her hand. "Jo Dawson."

"Uh?" The blonde with a southern. "Same last name?"

"We're married." Jo laughed.

"Oh. Okay." Fin chuckled.

The rest of the team introduced themselves. They were happy to have the help. If they got this guy, it meant two cold cases in New York and the two cases here would get closed.

"You guys are nice." Fin commented. "What's up with that battle-ax downstairs?"

Al patted him on the shoulder. "Not enough hours in the day… not enough hours in the day."

Josie showed them where they could put their things so they could go over both cities cases.

Rollins was the one to explain their theory. "The only thing we found in common between our two cities was that there's a manufacturing trade show in both cities. It was in New York during the time of our rape-murders… and it's here, now… in Chicago."

"Where?" Antonio asked.

"Rittenton?"

"Rittenhouse." Voight corrected Rollins. He looked to Jay and Erin. "You two will be headed there as soon as our friend in interrogation gives us a composite."

"Why don't we do better?" Jo stood up. "If they're part of the trade show… they'd have profiles, right? Especially if they're travelling with it?"

"Jin?"

"On it, boss." Jin went to get his laptop to get to work.

"Jo, can I see you in my office please?" Voight asked.

Jo nodded and followed her father into his office, closing the door behind her.

"What's their story?" Fin asked Antonio.

Antonio chuckled. "Want the Reader's Digest version? 'Cause the whole story will take more time than we've got to solve this."

"Sure."

"Jo is Voight's daughter."

Fin looked back to the office before turning back to Antonio. "You're kidding? You married the boss' daughter?"

"Jo and I go way back… like 15 years plus back… she was my kid sister's best friend in high school and I was a new patrolman. We fell in love and well, she got pregnant… but I didn't get to marry her until this past year because she'd been shipped into WitSec and I watched her house blow up. I was led to believe she and the baby had died."

"Following so far."

"She had twins on her 18th birthday… raised them on her own with her mom."

"Where does Voight fit in?"

"Turns out, the man that raised Jo wasn't her real dad… Voight and her mom had had a quick fling…"

"So, you've got two kids, you're married to the boss' daughter and you're his right hand?"

"I've got two other kids… I married between the time Jo was taken from me and the time she came back to Chicago… and we have a baby at home too."

"5 kids? Damn man." Fin was in shock. "Well, all the best with that man."

"Thanks… uh, I'm gonna try and get this pickpocket to get us an ID, make yourselves at home."

 **Meanwhile…**

"What's up, Dad?"

"What's your taken on this whole thing?"

"What do you mean?"

"That this prick is travelling, following a convention?"

"It's plausible. I saw something similar back in New Orleans… but these guys have profiles on him. We didn't have that until now. The fact that he's anger retaliatory… not good. I saw a couple… and I've treated their victims. He's not about to slow down."

Voight looked behind her. "Looks like they're headed to go figure out the convention attendees, go help them out… I'll get the New York duo to help out the rest of us with more of a profile..."

Josie went to the door. "Let's hope Erin and Jay can nab him once we get an ID."

"Yeah." Voight nodded.

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* * *

Antonio and Jin were starting to make their way through all the attendees at the convention when Jo walked in. "Anything?"

"There are literally hundreds of people attending this conference."

"Hmm." Josie leaned against the back wall next to Antonio. "Adam, are you contributing to this?" She'd just noticed that Ruzek was in the back of Jin's office. He also wasn't fully focused.

"Yo, the computers work better if you don't slobber on them." Jin snapped at Antonio.

Antonio put his hands in the air. "Sorry."

"Hey, that Detective Rollins?" Adam said.

Josie rolled her eyes. "What about her?"

"She's got… like 10 things goin' on, right? All of them good."

Josie groaned.

Antonio and Jin exchanged glances. "Uh huh, sure."

Antonio looked to Jo next before adding on. "I give your marriage 6 months."

"No, no!" Adam joined them next to the computers. "Wendy… she's cool. I could go home and tell her that."

Josie choked on her coffee.

"You'd tell your fiancé… that you worked with some hot detective from New York and she kinda blew your mind?" Antonio had no clue what Adam and Wendy's relationship was like at home, but he knew what it took to make a relationship work. Adam didn't have that, especially not if he would have the hots for every pretty thing that came across his path.

Jin was shaking with laughter. "Really, Ruzek?"

Adam thought about it. "Uh, no."

"No, that's what I thought." Antonio turned back to the computers. "Jo, you okay?"

"Yeah… just… focus on the case." She pointed to the computers.

"So," Jin pointed the screens. "Here's a list of attendees to both conferences… and I went through the DMV and pulled their photos."

"Jin, we don't need to hear about the labour… just show us the baby."

"Here." Jin sighed. "45 guys who were at both conferences."

"Okay, load this onto the laptop." Josie put her empty coffee cup in the trash. "Let's show, Theo… maybe we'll catch a break and the guy he saw is one of these 45."

It didn't take too long before Theo pointed out the guy he saw in the Riverwalk. "That's him."

"Thank you, Theo." Josie smiled sweetly. "You've been a doll… now, we let you go… but you get caught again… you're not getting away."

"Yes, ma'am." He nodded.

Antonio opened the door to escort him out while Josie got the picture of Jeffrey Baker to Jay and Erin to bring him in.

* * *

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* * *

Baker was sitting in Interrogation with Jay and Erin. Rollins, Fin, Antonio and Josie were in the viewing room. Hank had to take a call. Baker wasn't giving them anything.

Antonio was getting pissed off. Baker was smug and arrogant. His cell began to vibrate. "Dawson." He listened before punching the wall and ending the call. "Fuck!"

"Antonio?" Josie looked to him.

"Come with me." He signalled to her.

They all followed him as he went to the Interrogation room and pulled Erin and Jay out of there.

"What?!" Erin snapped.

"There's been another rape down at the Riverwalk… vic survived."

"What?!" Josie exclaimed. "She… she's alive?"

Antonio nodded. "She's at Med."

"I'm coming." Erin went to get her jacket.

"You coming, babe?" Antonio asked Josie.

"Someone's gonna have to keep her in line." Josie growled. While she appreciated where Erin's emotions were coming from, she knew that her temper could blow their entire case if she got close to the guy who did this.

"So, it's not Baker?" Jay asked.

"Unless he can be here and in the Riverwalk at the exact same time, probably not." Antonio sighed. "Talk to Voight. See what he wants to do. I'm going to make sure those two don't lock horns any more than they have to today."

* * *

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* * *

The ride back from Med was done in pure silence. Erin had seen herself in the latest victim. Josie, however, had been shaken to the core. Vanessa, the only one to survive this rapist, was 16. She was a few months older than Zoë and a couple years older than Eva. She had fought back. She'd managed to get them DNA evidence and something of a description of the man that had attacked her. The only thing was, it wasn't Jeffrey Baker. Baker was a blue-eyed blond while her attack had dirty blond hair, his eyes were brown. There was something off about Jeffrey, but he wasn't the one. Josie knew that they'd have to kick him.

Antonio looked over to his wife. She was staring out the window. He took her hand and squeezed it. "Jo."

"She's a girl, Antonio… she's almost the same age as our daughters… and… I just… I can't."

"We're gonna get the bastard." He said, turning into the District parking lot.

"We better, Antonio… I… All I can think about is what if it were Zoë or Eva…"

"Jo, you can't go there." Antonio had gone there himself, but he wasn't about to add to the stress she was feeling. "You can't. Vanessa fought back, and because of that, she's alive and she's getting us one inch closer to the son of a bitch that attacked her."

Erin was still quiet in the back seat. She could see that Antonio and Josie were just as upset at this latest turn of events, and they had every reason to. She, however, was boiling over in anger and pain. She was almost that girl once upon a time. She needed to talk to Voight when they got back to the District. She wanted a piece of this monster when they got him. She wanted 5 minutes alone with him in the cage.

Upon getting back to the District, they revealed what they'd learned from Vanessa.

"If this moron was rational or logical, he'd make a run for the hills… but he knows the heat is on, and he's still here… so he's pissed off because Vanessa survived." Rollins said.

"And he probably knows he left DNA under her nails." Josie added. "It's only a matter of time before his DNA pings on our system. He's gonna hit sooner rather than later… these attacks are his drug, and he's a big-time addict."

Voight cleared his throat. "Hit every hospital, clinic and pharmacy in this city. He had to have gotten his injury treated… or at least he had to do something to deal with it. Send more foot patrols into this Riverwalk… I want this bastard off my streets!"

Antonio headed into Voight's office to make a plan to get more officers into the Riverwalk. He looked up from the map and noticed that Burgess was nowhere to be found. "Anyone see Burgess?"

Jay shook his head. "Haven't seen her."

Antonio sighed and went back to the map.

Josie was making herself some tea to calm her nerves when Rollins came into the staff room with Erin. They poured themselves some coffee.

Rollins grimaced as she took a sip. "Okay, that confirms it. Chicago cops can't make good coffee either."

The three women chuckled.

Erin asked Amanda how she could deal with this every day. "It's tough… especially if they're kids… but Vanessa's alive."

"It just doesn't make sense." Erin took another sip of coffee.

"You want the good guys to win." Rollins pointed out.

"I want the bad guys to get what's coming to them."

"Sometimes they do." Rollins said. "Do you believe in Karma?"

Josie spoke up. "We tend to believe in payback here."

Rollins looked to her. "Really?"

"We're a little rougher around the edges here. Especially this unit."

"Well, a little advice, just because I've been in your shoes before… because, payback tends to be the biggest bitch out there. It consumes you."

Josie scoffed under her breath and left the room. She needed to clear her mind.

"What's her problem?"

"She's got two teen girls, her husband is her partner and her dad is the boss… she tends to take a lot more personally than she needs to, but this time, I'm with her." Erin finished her coffee and went to see if any new leads had come in.

* * *

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* * *

Antonio, Josie and Hank had finished redirecting foot patrols in the Riverwalk area when Burgess came back with a possible ID. They had Jin pull his history and found that he had charges to his credit card in New York at the same time as their rape-murders.

"Where's he staying?" Voight asked as he walked out of his office.

Ruzek answered. "Hotel Fauntleroy… past 6 days."

"Okay, let's roll out." He winked at Burgess. "You're going places, kid."

Antonio patted her on the shoulder. "Good job."

Josie smiled. "You'll be up here soon. Let's get this guy."

They headed to the hotel and got into position. Adam and Al were inside the hotel while the others were in vehicles near the key exits of the hotel.

"You think he's here?" Josie asked her father. She'd gotten used to always riding with him and Antonio.

"If he's not, they may be able to give us an idea of when he'll back." Voight sighed. "I want him… and I want him gone."

"Dad, I… after what I heard from Vanessa, I think I'm wanting him alone… I want… I want him to pay for what he did to those girls."

"Jo, I want nothing more than to let you do that… but for everything he did, he needs to face the full force of our justice system. The families need closure, and I know exactly where you're coming from. Erin already asked me for 5 minutes with him in the cage. I told her no."

"You bend rules all the time."

"Me, yeah… because I really don't care if they take my badge or throw my ass back in jail. I do care if they come after my daughter or the officer who is like my daughter." Voight looked his daughter in the eye. "I know that you two are some of the strongest, most brilliant minds in the CPD. I'm not about to take away the strongest people we have to clean up the streets of Chicago."

"I'm with Voight on this one." Antonio put the binoculars down. "He needs to face justice… and if I could, I'd take him out… but we can't… not this time."

"Hey, uh… guys?" Ruzek's voice came through their comms.

"What?" Antonio snapped.

"That guy… from the convention center… we kicked him…"

"Yeah, Jeffrey Baker." Antonio radioed back. "What about him?"

"Which hotel is he staying in?"

"Sofitel." Josie took the radio. "Ruzek, you wanna fill in the rest of the class?"

"He just walked in here." Adam answered back. "He's talking to the desk clerk."

Voight yanked the radio from Josie. "Take him! Take him now!" He then turned on the SUV and began to move it towards the front of the hotel.

Al's voice came over their radios. "Suspect exiting through the front door."

Voight gunned it and pulled in front of Baker, jamming the brakes. Antonio jumped out and grabbed him, throwing him against the hood. "What are you doing here?"

"Out for a stroll." Baker said.

"Uh huh." Voight looked to Ruzek who was running towards them. "What?"

"Clerk said he was asking what room Neil Vance was staying in!"

Voight grabbed Baker and slammed him against the hood, harder than Antonio had. "Where the hell is Vance!?"

"I want a lawyer."

Antonio grabbed him and shoved him in the back of the waiting cruiser. This wasn't about to get any easier.

* * *

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* * *

Voight hadn't gotten anywhere. They knew that Vance and Baker were partners. Baker was the lookout while Vance did all the dirty work. There was only one way to get the information they needed. Voight looked to his team. "Put him in the cage."

When no one moved, he bellowed. "NOW!"

Atwater and Jay went to move Baker from interrogation to the cage. Voight moved towards the stairs.

Josie went to stop him. "Dad, what are you planning?"

"Getting answers."

"Dad."

"Jo, just keep New York out of the cage… we'll be fine."

"Da…" Josie was cut off as Hank closed the door leading to the rollout and the cage. "Damn it!"

She pounded on the door. Hank had locked it from the other side. There was no way she could get down there. She had to make sure no one else went down there. Last thing Intelligence needed was for Voight to lose his badge and get tossed back in jail.

"What's going on?" Antonio asked as he pulled her aside.

"Well, pretty sure my father is trying to purposely have his badge taken away." Josie growled. "He wants us to keep the two visitors busy while he gets some answers."

"Awesome." Antonio looked to see Fin questioning Jay about the cage. "The Commander said to do anything to get this guy off our streets."

"I don't think he told Dad to kill the torture one of the suspects." Josie hissed. "Are you seriously siding with him on this?"

"No, babe, that's not what I'm saying… I'm just saying, let your dad do his thing… and not judge… the young women of this city are still walking targets for Vance."

Josie knew he was right. They went to keep Rollins and Fin busy while Voight got the answer they needed.

About fifteen minutes passed before Voight reappeared. "Navy Pier."

They geared up and rolled out. The team broke up. They had to. Navy Pier was a lot of ground to cover and they didn't have time to get more officers into the area to find Vance. If Vance felt cornered, he was liable to start killing people on a spree. Enough blood had been spilled because of him. This was the end of the line.

Antonio, Voight and Josie were in one group. Erin had gone with Rollins. Jay, and Fin were together. Jay had brought his sniper rifle. No one knew how this was going down but they needed their bases covered. Al was staying high. Adam had wandered off on his own.

They weren't seeing him. Suddenly, Adam's voice broke the silence in their ear pieces. Antonio froze, causing Josie to bump into him.

"I got the eye."

"Ruzek?" Antonio asked.

"Where are you?" Voight questioned. If Adam had Vance, he was alone and they needed to get to him.

Adam was shouting at Vance. The team booked it towards the central part of the pier. It was the only place he could be.

"Woah!" Adam exclaimed. "Come on, now."

Voight froze. Vance had a hostage. "Shit."

Adam was trying to talk Vance down. Vance was demanding Adam's backup weapon. It was then that Adam gave them his location. "You're smart, Neil… not even my partner Marlyn knows about it."

"Marlyn Yacht!" Voight bellowed.

They booked it. Erin questioned if they should call in SWAT. Voight told her there wasn't enough time. They knew he was right. He ordered Jay and Al to go high and get in position.

"In position, boss."

"Got the shot?"

The air was tense. This was a last resort but if they had to, they had to take him down.

"Affirmative." Jay was the one taking this shot.

"Light him up."

A single gunshot echoed and the Riverwalk Killer was down. Chicago was finally able to breathe again.

Erin and Rollins went to help the hostage, while Antonio went to clear Vance's weapon.

* * *

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* * *

After the paperwork was done and filed away, Voight went to meet Commander Perry. Erin drove the two SVU detectives to O'Hare for their flight home. The others went their own way. Antonio and Josie stayed behind.

"Jo, you okay?"

Josie sighed and sat on the edge of his desk. "No."

"What's wrong?"

"This whole thing." She twirled the promise ring he'd given her all those years ago. She still wore it, only now it sat on the middle finger of her right hand.

"You only play with your jewelry when you're upset… we got them."

"I know… but why don't I feel better?" She could feel the tears beginning to build.

"I think it's because justice wasn't fully served." He got up and pulled on his jacket. "Let's go… I think I know something that may help pick up your spirits."

"What?" She slid off the desk.

"Come on. I'll show you." He handed her her jacket.

They drove to Med. Upon arriving, Josie asked. "What are we doing here?"

Antonio took her hand. "Giving a young woman peace of mind."

They made their way up to Vanessa's room. Antonio knocked on the door. "Vanessa, ma'am… mind if we come in?"

Vanessa nodded. "Sure."

"You remember my partner?"

"Sure… she's your wife." Vanessa managed a weak smile. "Do you have more questions?"

Josie walked to the side of the bed and took Vanessa's hand. "No, sweetie, we came with news."

Vanessa's mother took a deep breath.

"We got them. They were a team, and because you are so strong and you were able to fight back, and get us evidence, we got them. One is going to jail for the rest of his life, and the other… well, he can't hurt anyone anymore."

Vanessa gasped before breaking down completely. "It's over?"

Josie hugged her and rubbed her back. "It's over. You are so strong, Vanessa. So, so strong. Thank you. Because of you, a lot more girls are safe."

"He didn't break me."

"No, he didn't." Josie wiped Vanessa's tears, the way she had her children's tears over the last 15 years. "You won, and you are that much stronger. You rest and heal. If you ever want to talk…" She pulled her card from her back pocket. "You call me, okay. I'll be there to talk."

"Thank you." Vanessa took the card.

Vanessa's mother patted her daughter's shoulder before asking Josie if she could speak to her outside. Josie nodded and followed her to hallway. "Thank you."

"Ma'am… it's what we do."

"I… I don't know how you do this job… knowing what these animals do…"

Josie cleared her throat. "I… I do this because we have 5 children at home. Two of our daughters are close to Vanessa's age."

"I knew that you had to be a mother. I could see it in your eyes… that this wasn't just another case for you."

Josie nodded. "Cases involving children or teens… always hard… today… seeing Vanessa… I couldn't help but imagine if it had been one of our daughters."

"Thank you… you gave my daughter peace of mind." Vanessa's mother hugged her tightly. "She wouldn't sleep… couldn't close her eyes… now look at her."

Josie looked over and saw that Vanessa's eyes were closed and her vitals had calmed down drastically. "I meant it when I said she could call me. Before I became a detective, I was a nurse… and I can be an shoulder if she doesn't feel comfortable talking to anyone else about what happened."

"Thank you, Detective Dawson… truly. I'm going to go sit with her… I'll be in touch." Her mother went back into the room. She thanked Antonio and hugged him before taking her seat next to her daughter's bedside.

Antonio exited the room and slid the door closed. "Better?"

Josie nodded. "Better."

Antonio wrapped his arm around her waist. "Let's go home and you can hold our infant daughter and things will start to slowly go back to some semblance of normal."

"Normal is a setting on the dryer, babe."

Antonio kissed her cheek. "Yeah, yeah."

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* * *

Josie had just gotten Grace settled and Antonio was checking in on Eva who had gotten into a fight at school. The twins were on a school retreat and Diego was at a friend's place for a birthday party that also happened to be a sleepover. She was headed back to their bedroom when she heard a car pull up to the house. She went back down the stairs to see who was there. She grabbed the baseball bat that was kept by the door since their guns were locked away. She wanted to be safe. She saw that it was Erin's car. She had no clue as to why the hell Erin was here at this time of night, especially since she was supposed to at her high school reunion with Jay. She put the bat behind the door and deactivated the alarm. She opened the door and leaned against the door frame.

"Jo… how?"

"I was leaving the nursery when I saw your headlights… what's going on?"

"Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure." Josie stepped back from the door. "Where's Jay?"

"He went back to his place."

"Let's go to the kitchen." Josie motioned. "Antonio?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"I'm gonna make some tea and read for a bit."

"Sure thing… Eva and I will be chatting for a while anyhow."

"Something happen with Eva?" Erin asked as Josie placed a mug in front of her.

"Fight at school… wouldn't talk to me or Gaby… so Antonio's trying."

"Poor kid." She sighed.

"So… you didn't come over to check on the kids… what's up?" Josie put the kettle on the stove. "Reunion didn't go well?"

"Not my scene… I don't owe any of those morons anything… I'm better now than I was then… that's all that matters."

"Okay." Josie took out the tea. "Then why are you here?"

Erin bit her lip. "I need to talk to you… and I'd prefer if Antonio doesn't find out."

"Why?"

"It's about your brother."

Josie turned off the stove and poured the water into their mugs. "What about Justin?"

"He… he showed up at my apartment…"

"So?" Josie added some honey to her tea. "Did he make a move on you or something?"

"No… he was shaking… Jo, his knuckles were busted… he was covered in blood."

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 _ **A/N: Well… we all knew something was going to happen, right? Yes, a lot of this comes from the 'Conventions' episode… but… it does lead up to some interesting family drama for Josie… more to come soon. All credits for any lines from the episode to Chicago PD's genius writers. Until next time… Nicole!**_


	17. Figured You Out

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"What do you mean his knuckles were bloody?" Josie almost dropped her mug.

"I mean it looked like he'd been in some sort of MMA type fight." Erin sighed. "I'm scared he's gotten into it and with the way Hank's been acting…"

"You're scared they'll both go so far down that hole that we won't be able to get them back?"

Erin nodded. "IA is still after him."

"I know." Josie groaned. She was in the worst position. "What do you want me to do?"

"We need to find him… find out what happened."

"Jo!" Antonio called from the stairs. "We gotta roll out…"

"Shit." Josie hissed. "Okay, go… I'll see you at the scene… we'll figure this out."

Erin nodded and put her empty mug in the dishwasher before sneaking out the back door as Antonio came in the kitchen.

"Who called?" Josie finished her tea and put the mug away.

"Hank." Antonio groaned. "Something about that ring we brought down last month."

"Got it." Josie followed him to grab their jackets. Antonio had grabbed their stars and side arms from the safe before coming downstairs.

On the drive to the scene, Josie prayed that it wasn't something to do with Justin or this Catalano guy. To her relief it was another bust, and since they'd made the original bust, they were brought in to do this one. Within a couple hours, they'd rounded up a second group and had actually managed to shut down the drug production itself. This made the higher ups in the Ivory Tower extremely pleased.

"You okay?" Antonio asked on the way back home after they'd filed their paperwork.

"Yeah, just really fricken tired." Josie pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I need sleep."

"Okay… well, I can take the kids out, we can leave you to sleep properly."

"You sure you want all 5 of them on your own?" Josie asked, stifling a yawn.

"In desperation, I can always call your mom or mine." Antonio smiled.

"Aren't you tired?" Josie asked as they pulled into the garage.

"Not as much as you. You've been running ragged."

"I have a better idea." Josie whispered. "Call one of our moms… have them take the kids for the day… and you and I just sleep."

"I'm all for it." Antonio laughed. "I'll call Mom…"

"I'll go get the bed ready."

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Josie woke up a few hours later feeling significantly better. She turned over to see Antonio was still sound asleep. She smiled. While he may have claimed to be getting more sleep than her, he clearly wasn't. She grabbed her reading blanket from the chair and wrapped it around her. She went to the bay window that was in their room and looked out. The sun was bright, and she could hear the breeze blowing through the trees. She was going to let Antonio sleep for a bit and she was going to go start prepping supper. She threw on one of Antonio's CPD t-shirts and headed to the kitchen. She pulled a chicken from the freezer and set it to thaw. She preheated the oven and set to peeling potatoes. She was lost in thought when Antonio came down the stairs.

He leaned against the doorframe and watched as his wife prepared supper. He had always imagined that this would be their life. He'd always imagined how they'd raise their children, she a nurse and he'd be working his way up the CPD. Their future was different now. They were raising their children alright, but now they were both Detectives within the CPD and her dad, her real dad, was their boss. He chuckled to himself.

"Hey, you're up." Josie smiled.

"Yeah… bed suddenly got chilly. I get what you talk about when I leave."

"I just figured you'd benefit from more sleep."

"I appreciate it." He walked into the kitchen. "What's for supper?"

"Roast chicken, grilled corn, veggies, mashed potatoes…"

"Are we having company?"

"Not that I know of." Jo grinned. "But, the kids will come home eventually, and there are 4 teenagers."

"Fair enough." Antonio wrapped his arms around. "You look good in my shirt."

"You used to tell me that back then." Jo whispered. "Can pull the corn out, husk it?"

"I'd really much rather just hold you in my arms. You know before your dad calls us back into work." Antonio kissed her neck.

"Antonio… your mom will have the kids home soon." While intimacy had been rare lately, Josie didn't need any of their kids or her mother-in-law to catch them in the act.

Antonio flipped the switches off the stove. "Put that chicken in the oven." The tone in his voice was his 'detective' tone.

Josie finished seasoning the chicken and put the roaster in the oven. "Now what?"

Antonio swiftly lifted his wife into his arms and carried her to their room. He kicked the door closed behind him. "Now, I pay attention to you." He kissed her, reaching under his t-shirt that she was wearing and lifted it over her head. "All of you."

He laid her on the bed. He laid a trail of kisses from her neck down her abdomen. His hands were busy teasing her.

"Antonio!" Josie moaned. "Oh!"

"You're all wet, babe." Antonio whispered before going down on her completely.

Josie couldn't hold back. The sensations were too strong. She arched as her orgasm rocked her. "Antonio!"

Antonio, knowing just how much they both needed this, pulled himself up and onto her. He nudged her legs open a little wider and slid into her. This wasn't going to be soft or romantic. Their passion burning, and their tempo high, it wasn't long before they both climaxed.

Antonio, breathless, rolled over and pulled his wife tightly to him. "We needed that."

Josie was at a loss for words. She only nodded and gently kissed him.

"I love you, Josie. Always."

"I know." She smiled. "I'll always love you, Antonio. No matter what." She sighed. "We need to do that more often."

"You said that a couple days ago too." He laughed. "We should probably get back to getting supper ready… so the kids aren't suspicious."

"You're worried that Mama is going to find out that we wanted some afternoon delight." She playfully smacked his chest.

"That too." He kissed her. "You complete me."

"Hmm… that's what you say when you either want something or you broke something. It's the same trick both your sons use on me."

"Hmm." He smirked before getting off the bed and heading to their master bathroom to quickly shower.

Josie chased after him. "Antonio!" She gasped as he surprised her by lifting her onto the counter.

"I'm not done yet." He growled.

Josie wrapped her legs around him, pulling him to her. She was surprised to feel his hard shaft against her skin. "I can feel that." Her voice was barely a whisper. "I didn't think you'd be ready so fast."

"I may be older, but I'm not that old." His voice was gruff. He quickly slid into her. "I'm pretty sure this is what happens when we finally have alone time… no criminals, no kids… no worries."

Josie bit her lower lip. "Mhmm."

She wrapped her legs tightly around him, keeping up with him. It wasn't long before they reached climax again. Josie was thankful that she was on the counter. Her legs were jelly.

"You okay?" Antonio asked, breathlessly.

"Barely." She smiled. "But, I definitely think we need to fit more time in for us. You know, like actually focusing a little more on us… as a couple."

He grinned. "I won't argue there. Pretty sure either one of our moms will gladly help out… just don't tell them why we need a babysitter."

"Just, turn on the shower before they get here." She nodded towards the shower. "I don't need nosey teens tonight."

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"Thanks, Abuela." Zoë said as their grandmother pulled up to the house. "I really appreciate you showing me those recipes and giving me those tips. It should really help on the next culinary challenge."

"Anything for you, hija." Liliana smiled. "I know that your mother has many of the recipes too, but I also know her work makes it hard for her to teach you."

"I also really love getting to know more about our history and culture too, Abuela."

This made Liliana even prouder. She knew that in this day and age, a lot of teens didn't want anything to do with culture or heritage. To know all of her grandchildren wanted to learn about both their Irish/Cajun and Dominican roots made her happy. She knew that at least they would keep it going for a while.

"Abuela?" Xavier asked.

"Si, hijo?"

"Will you be able to come to my next game?"

"I'm almost certain that we'll both be there, and depending on Tia Gaby's schedule, she'll join us."

"Cool." Xavier grinned. "I know Tio and Tia said that they'd probably be there too."

"We're all proud of you and your team, Xavier. It's been a while since one of our teams has made it as far as you guys." Liliana said. She turned to Diego. "How about your science team?"

"We're just waiting to hear back if we qualified for State."

"I thought you were supposed to hear from them already?"

"We were, but there was another team that broke rules." Diego said. "So, now they're reviewing all teams before announcing the State level competitors."

"You sound happy." Liliana said.

"Well… the team that broke the rules… they're our biggest competition." Diego was a little excited. "I know I shouldn't be happy, but it makes it a little easier for us to place higher if they're not there."

"Just… focus on your team, Diego." Liliana advised him. "That will be your team's winning strategy. Let the others worry about themselves."

"Yes, Abuela." Diego knew his grandmother was right. "Thanks for lunch and driving us home."

"Anytime, hijo." She reached back and patted his shoulder. "Behave for your parents. It's been a long week."

"Si, Abuela." Eva smiled. "We'll see you this weekend?"

"Most likely."

They all got out of the vehicle, Zoë took Grace's carseat from the car and they headed up to the house. While they lived next door, they'd gone out for lunch as a treat. Liliana decided to drive them home before heading off to pick up Miguel from his appointment. She waved to them one last before backing out of the driveway.

"Think Mom and Dad are up?" Diego asked.

"Maybe." Zoë said.

"I doubt it." Xavier said as he unlocked the door. "They've been running on fumes."

"Someone had to be up at some point." Eva pointed to the kitchen as they walked in. "Light are on and I smell roasting chicken."

"Should we call out?" Diego was curious as to where their parents were.

"Nah… we should maybe finish prepping supper… let them rest a little while longer." Xavier took it upon himself, as the oldest, to make an executive decision.

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"Did you hear something?" Jo asked as she threw on some clothes.

"No." Antonio answered. "Kids aren't due back until 5."

"Antonio… it's 5:30!" Josie exclaimed as she looked at the clock. She pulled her hair back and ran to check to see if they were home.

"Josie!" Antonio chased after her.

They both stopped suddenly seeing that supper had finished being prepared and was being laid out on the table.

"Hi!" Eva said. "Did you guys sleep enough?"

"Uh… yeah… yeah, we slept." Antonio said. "When did you guys get home?"

"Around 5." Xavier was helping Zoë get a fussy Grace into her chair.

"Why didn't you wake us?" Josie asked as she pulled frozen juice from the freezer to make a new pot.

"Because you guys haven't been sleeping a lot." Zoë stated the obvious.

"Well, I think we'll be good now." Josie said. "Did you guys behave for Abuela?"

"Always." Xavier answered innocently. "She's Abuela."

"I'm pretty sure that if they misbehaved, Ma wouldn't let me hear the end of it for not teaching them manners and the such." Antonio snickered. "You worry too much. You're gonna start getting grey hair, my love."

Jo just glared at him. "Did y'all finish making the supper?"

"We guessed at what the plan was." Zoë admitted.

"Roasted veggies. Salad. Roast chicken." Eva pointed to the various pots and pans. "We were sure what you wanted to do with the corn and potatoes so we made herb roasted potatoes and grilled corn."

Josie hugged her daughters. "Well, I was going to do mashed potatoes with gravy, but hey… supper's made, it smells amazing and we're all back home. It's been a while since we've all been here for supper together."

"I made a pan sauce." Zoë said as she put her mother's gravy boat on the table. "It's one of the ones I'm hoping to use for my next exam."

"Well, then, we're happy to be your guinea pigs." Antonio laughed. "Okay, every sit, let's eat and maybe we can find a movie to all agree on tonight."

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Josie was busy making coffee when Hank came up, grumpier than usual, into the bullpen. "Dad?" She put the coffee pot down. "What's going on?"

"Oh, well… seems that the higher ups in the Ivory Tower think we're just another homicide team."

"What?"

He handed her a file. "Erin… my office."

Erin put down her mug and followed Hank. As the door closed behind them, Antonio came up to Jo. "What was that all about?"

"I don't have a clue. Dad just handed me this." She handed him the file. "Something about the Ivory Tower wanting us to look into this murder."

No sooner did Antonio have the file, did Hank and Erin reappear. Hank snatched the file from Antonio and pulled out an 8x10 of a dead body. "This is Frank Fitori." He taped the picture to the board. "He was caught napping in a ditch close to where he was dumped. He's had his own thing going on in the South Side for years."

Al appeared with his banana. "He swims with a lot of big fish."

"Swam." Jay corrected him.

That earned him a glare from the experience detective. "Swam."

Erin, having a suspicion about what was going on volunteered to go check out the site with Jay.

"Sure." Hank nodded. "Everyone else, go through the files on Taylor Street, Bridgeport, Chinatown and Melrose crews. See who's who in the food chain."

While the others thumbed through files, Antonio went to talk to Hank in private. Hank was grabbing his coat.

"Hank."

"Antonio, I've gotta go."

"Okay, fine… but listen." Antonio blocked his father-in-law's path. "I've been looking at a lot of the guys that got sent up because of his testimony. Between you, me and the lamppost, a few of them are known to frequent a lot of the same places you do."

"So?"

"I was wondering if you had thought about it, or are thinking about it?"

"Yeah, sure… but there's a lot of angles to cover here."

"Right, but I was thinking in particular about the social club you belong to." Antonio sighed. "It's not all upstanding citizens in there. It's general knowledge, Hank."

"What exactly are you trying to say, Antonio?"

"Well, if Fitori pissed off a guy at your place… we may need your cooperation. Ya know, make a move on them from the inside."

"Sure, I thought about it. Ran all those names already. Jin crossed checked everything. Nothing popped."

"Really." Antonio wasn't buying it. "I just talked to Jin. He didn't tell me anything."

"Jin does a lot for me and he doesn't tell anyone else. It's the perk of me being boss." Hank got up really close to Antonio. "Is there any confusion on who runs Intelligence?"

Antonio backed away, hands up. "I'm just trying to solve the case, boss."

With that, Hank pushed passed Antonio and left in a huff.

"Hey." Josie came up to Antonio, who was shaking his head. "What's going on here today? Dad's pissy and you look like he just ripped you a new one."

"Basically did." He sighed. "He's hiding something you know."

"Probably, but what do you want me to do about it? He's not even listening to Lindsay."

Antonio knew that wasn't good. "Okay… well, let's run a few more names. I just feel like your dad is going to try and bury this for some reason. Don't know what the hell that reason is, but I'm not in a good place right now as his second-in-command."

Jo knew that this was a hard place for him. She had a suspicion on what her father was covering concerning this case, but she couldn't tell Antonio anything until she knew more of the facts. She was in the toughest place. She grabbed her cell and went to call Lindsay.

Antonio was about to ask her what she was up to when his own cell began to ring. "Hello?"

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"Thank you for coming so quickly." Gradishar smiled. "I know you're busy."

"Yeah." Antonio looked around. He was incredibly uncomfortable. "Meeting IAB in some secret spot."

"Relax." She tried to calm him. "Everyone knows you're a great detective. Your wife too."

"Don't bring her into this." Antonio growled. "Whatever this is."

"Hey." Gradishar whispered. "I talked to Brady, in Vice. After our chat a little while back. All he did was praise the two of you. He was surprised as hell to know you two had history but swore to high heaven that you two were the best damned detectives to ever work Vice."

"Come on. We both know you want something out of me."

"Fine." Gradishar gave up on trying to sweet talk him. "We've had Sergeant Voight working for us since we pulled him out of lockup. It was a part of his release. He pretends to be dirty, helps us run down some heavy hitters. It's a win-win for everyone. Only he wasn't playing dirty… he WAS dirty. Still is. We were suckers to believe him. Well, I was, specifically, the sucker."

Antonio snipped. "Hey, lie down with dogs…"

"You have the same fleas that I do, Detective! Your whole unit does!" Gradishar was losing it. "Did you know Detective Lindsay is a former informant? Voight turned her at 14! Fourteen! You think she's not doing his bidding? He is building an army there and guess what? It's only a matter of time before it implodes and takes all you down with him."

"So what the hell do you want from me?"

"The murder at the march… I told Voight to looking into Alessio Colo. Said he would. Then, he blew it off. I wonder why."

"He never mentioned anything about that."

"So, that just proves my point." Gradishar knew she had him. What was worse was that Antonio knew she had him too. "To be clear, Detective. I will take Voight down. Everyone is watching. Waiting to see how this plays out. Right now, it's him or me. Once he's gone, you're in the perfect spot to get a promotion and lead Intelligence. The right way." She smirked. "All you have to do is choose a side."

With that, she turned on her heel and stalked away. Antonio sighed. He knew she was right. He knew that Voight wasn't 100% clean. Hell, he'd arrested him once before. He also knew that he couldn't hide this from Jo any longer. They had to get ahead of this before they were all out on their asses because Voight couldn't follow his own rules.

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Antonio returned to the bullpen as Hank was trying to say that they were handing off the case to Homicide. "Wait! Hold up a sec!"

Hank saw the manila folder in his son-in-law's hand and knew he was in for it.

"Alessio Colo. He was one of the big bosses on the south side. Bookmaking, loan sharking, extortion, you name it. CPD thought he was retired, but now a tip is leading me to think he's actually back in the game."

Voight could see the next picture in the folder. He whispered harshly to Antonio. "What are you doing?"

Antonio ignored him and put Catalano's picture up on the board. "This is Joe Catalano. Habitual felon, just released from Stateville… and he's Colo's nephew. He used to work for Colo before he got sent up." He could feel Hank's glare on him. He wasn't about to stop. Our DOA, Fitori… he ratted Catalano out in '06. The deal he made kept him out of Stateville while putting Catalano in."

Al sensing the tension, took the file from Antonio. "Looks like Catalano just got released. He had to have gotten right to it."

They pulled up stills of the footage that Lindsay and Halstead had gotten.

"Okay, so this is Catalano." Erin pointed to the passenger. "Who's the driver?"

Jay explained they were waiting on more footage and then they'd be able to ID the driver too.

Al sensed that Hank wanted to point them away from Colo. "The DOA, Fitori… he used to run with the Ross crew back in the day." He leaned against the desk. "A guy named Dean-o Ross, he was the patriarch."

Antonio nodded. "Along with Fitori, Dean Ross was also on the grand jury witness list against Catalano."

Erin pulled a picture out of the file. "This him."

Al nodded. "Yep. Dean-o, yeah."

"So, maybe Dean-o's a target too?"

"Alright, let's go." Al said. "Ruzek and I will shadow him… tuck him in at night."

"That's a good idea." Hank nodded. "I'll come along."

"Lindsay and I will come too." Jo suggested. "Jay, stay and run more details with Jin?"

"Looks like we're all going." Antonio said.

"I'd like to see you in my office." Voight gritted his teeth.

Antonio nodded and went in to the office. "I was told…. NO… I was ORDERED to run this investigation, Sergeant." He could see the steam coming from Voight's ears. "If you want to take it upstairs and explain to them why you'd rather I didn't, be my guest."

Hank huffed. "Sounds like you know what you're doing."

"I'm confident I do."

"Then let's see where this leads."

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Erin pulled Hank aside as the team got geared up. "What's going on?"

"Justin was there."

"Where?"

"He was the driver."

"How do you know?"

"Catalano told." Hank ran his hand through his hair. "And when this other footage… Look, I stopped by the CTA… his supervisor told me he hasn't been there in weeks… he's slipping away on me… again."

"Alright." Erin tried to calm him down. "Don't bite my head off, but are you going to bury this case?"

"I don't think Antonio's gonna let that happen." Hank sighed.

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Jo was sitting in Lindsay's car, watching for Dean-o Ross. Voight was on his own in the rear. Antonio was also alone on another side street. Al and Ruzek were in a van close to where Dean-o was last spotted. "Erin… be honest with me… you know more about this that anyone, don't you?"

Erin sighed. "Yeah…"

"Are you gonna make me interrogate you, or are you gonna tell me?"

"It's Justin. He's in on all this."

"I kinda figured as much." Jo groaned. "How deep?"

"He was the driver, Jo."

"Oh fuck."

"Yeah… Hank's hands are tied."

"Antonio's interference isn't helping." Jo concluded.

"Yeah, look, I don't wanna put you in the middle of all this."

"I already am. Blood pulls one way, marriage vows another." Josie sighed. "You have any clue how Antonio got all that info?"

"No, but however it happened, Voight ain't happy about it." Erin pulled up her binoculars. "I… I'm scared your dad is in over his head now."

Their conversation was cut short as chatter came over the radio. That was then cut short saying that Catalano was fleeing on foot. They all moved in to chase him. Only by the time the others caught up to Voight, he was alone and huffing. Catalano was nowhere in sight.

"Where is he?" Antonio demanded.

"He got away." Voight groaned. "I lost him."

Antonio didn't buy it. He stormed off and headed back to the District. He took the long way. He needed to come up with a way to confront Voight in all this mess.

Back at the District, Antonio stormed off into Voight's office. He didn't care if Voight was his boss and his father-in-law, he slammed the office door shut. "I want to know what the fuck is going on!"

Voight, trying to keep his cool, said. "You tell me."

"Now! Voight!"

"Don't you dare come in her barking at me!" Voight snapped. "Or, you're gonna see me off the leash!"

"Oh, you're pretty far off the leash already!" Antonio let everything that had been building up since he joined Intelligence out. "Have been since I got her! You want to work your own system, that's on you… until it starts to affect this whole Unit!" Antonio took a deep breath to steady himself. "Now, this unit is going to take down anyone and everyone involved in Fitori's death. You get in the way, I'm going to see to it that you go down too… For good this time."

Voight tried to through the incident with Diego back at him.

Antonio glared at him. "Go to Hell… you wanna talk, I'll be at my desk." And he stomped out of the office, almost bolting Lindsay over.

Josie knew that the tempers of both men were rising and it was only going to get worse. She watched as Erin told Hank that the footage from the construction company was in. She watched as Antonio was fuming and reading through notes. She snuck off and followed her father and Erin to Jin's office.

"Jo, what are you doing here?" Hank asked as she closed the door behind her.

"If you're worried that Antonio sent me, you can stop. I'm here because I know the truth. I put two and two together earlier. I also know how Justin went to Erin, all bloodied up."

"Erin?!"

"She his sister… she also doesn't blow everything out of proportion." Erin snapped.

"Have you told Antonio any of this?" Hank questioned.

"No!" Jo crossed her arms. "As much as I don't want to have secrets from my husband, I didn't need World War III to break out before we knew all the details. Now, it has broken out… and I'm the one stuck in the worst fucking place." Tears threatened to fall. "I'm not going to lose a brother and a husband over some case that Justin should've never been involved in."

"I can't let him go back to prison." Hank argued.

"I don't want him to either, Dad! We may not have a choice."

Erin played the footage. "It's definitely Justin."

"Then it's over."

Erin looked to Jo. "No, no it's not."

"He's an accomplice to murder." Hank sighed. "It's over."

"He may not answer your calls," Erin said. "But he'll damn well answer my calls." She looked to Josie. "Come with me. You'll be able to explain all this to Antonio once we find Justin."

Hank was left alone, worried that not only would he lose his son and his freedom, but he may very well lose the family he'd only just gained back.

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Erin convinced Justin for a meet. Jo stayed in the shadows so as to not spook him. Justin met with her and started going off in details as to what all went down with Fitori. Jo slowly approached to listen more.

"Erin! I swear to God. I had no choice!"

Erin grabbed his arms. "You need to get it together!"

"Erin, I gotta run, okay? I gotta run right now. I need your help." He tried to run when he saw Josie. "I'm a dead man!"

"Get in the car." Jo used her calmest voice. "We'll help you, but you gotta help us first."

Justin was numb. "Okay."

They led him to the Chrysler 300 and sped back to the District.

Josie called Antonio and asked him to meet them in the rollup.

"Why?" He asked. "Where the heck are you two?"

"Just, meet us… I'll explain everything, but you need to keep a cooler head than you did with Dad earlier." Josie urged.

"Okay." Antonio ended the call.

They pulled into the rollup and Josie went to Antonio.

"What the fuck is going on around here?" Antonio demanded.

"Keep it cool." Josie hissed. "Look, Erin and I have everything… Dad's not in on this."

Antonio slowed his breathing. "Okay, explain it to me."

Josie filled him in on everything.

"Why didn't tell you tell me?" Antonio asked. "We swore no secrets."

"I know. And, I know you have every right to be pissed at me… I'm the one who said we weren't ever going to have secrets… but Erin came to me the other night… and, I wanted the whole story. Not Dad blowing it out of proportion or you going off on both of them. I know you… and I know how amazing you are in this job, but you tend to make up your mind on someone before they've had the chance to tell you the whole story."

Antonio sighed. She was right. He did have a habit of rushing to judgement on people with bad histories. Voight and Justin were no exception to that. "Okay, I'll talk to him."

Jo waved Erin over. She turned to her baby brother. "You tell him absolutely everything. No detail is too small… Then, we'll help you out. I know you had nothing to do with this directly… but Justin, Erin… Dad… we all warned you that you had to keep your nose clean… we only ever wanted what's best for you."

Justin nodded weakly. "I know… I'm… I'm so sorry, Jo. I screwed up. I know how much you all put on the line for me… I blew it."

Antonio could see the terror and sorrow in Justin's eyes. "Okay, first… you're not under arrest… you, Jo and I… we're gonna go have a chat… then, we'll sort all this out. See if we can't keep you out of this for good."

Erin watched as they headed off to Interrogation. Now, all she had to do was make sure that Voight didn't blow this whole plan to bits.

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Voight was furious. He was being blackmailed by some snotty nosed wannabe gangster. His son was one of the most important things in his life. He wasn't going to let him rot in jail because he was a witness to a murder. He made his way up to the bullpen from the back way. He saw Erin standing in the hallway. He was curious as to why she was there. She'd said she was going to find Justin. That's when he saw something that made his heart stop. Justin was sitting in an Interrogation room. He stomped towards him, but Erin stopped him dead in his tracks.

Erin shook her head. "Antonio's in your office." She just pointed.

Hank, livid beyond belief as to why his daughter and the woman he considered a daughter betrayed his only son to Antonio, stormed to his office. "THERE BETTER BE A DAMN GOOD REASON WHY MY SON IS IN THE INTERROGATION ROOM, AND I WASN'T NOTIFIED IMMEDIATELY!" He bellowed.

Antonio kept his cool. He knew this was coming. He pointed a finger at Voight. "You have a problem. Internal Affairs. Gradishar came to me. She wanted to make a deal for you. She knows all about you and Colo." He paused. He could see that Voight's temper was still flaring. "Your son was dumb, getting involved with Catalano, but he was a dupe. Catalano's the target. So, as far as I'm concerned, I never saw that photo. I never heard him say he was there. Then, I'm going to move onto the next Intelligence file." He motioned to the door and Josie snuck into the office.

"We both plan on just moving on, but Dad," Jo said softly. "Justin needs to get his act together. One way or another, because if he doesn't there isn't anything any of us will be able to do to keep him safe and out of prison."

Hank nodded. "I know." He looked to Antonio with new respect. "Thank you."

Antonio nodded and left the office.

Hank turned to face his daughter. "Did you know Internal Affairs tried to turn him?"

"I found out today. Dad… he's a good cop, he wouldn't just throw this unit under the bus if he didn't have the whole story." She hugged her dad. "He also knows more about this Gradishar than she thinks. He's gunning for her, not you."

"Why?"

"He didn't tell me everything… but it has something to do with something that happened when he was a patrolman."

"Hmm." Hank sighed, rubbing his eyes. "What do you think I should do about Justin?"

"Boot camp."

"What?"

"Military boot camp." Josie sighed. "It's far from Chicago, away from the bad influences… and he'll learn responsibility, respect and discipline."

Hank knew she was right. Dixie had suggested it to him earlier, but he dismissed the idea because he didn't think his son was so far gone from help. He nodded. "I'll take him now."

"Dad, don't be too hard on him. This hasn't all settled in yet, but he'll know that we're only doing this because we want him to be safe and actually make something of himself." Jo said, opening the door. She left and went to talk to Antonio.

Hank headed towards Interrogation to get Justin.

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Josie and Antonio had gone home, just in time to tuck the kids in. They then went back into the District to finish their paperwork. They were halfway through the file, the phone rang. Hank was just coming back into the District himself as Antonio hung up the phone.

"What's up?" Hank asked.

"They just dredged a body out of the river." Antonio said.

Hank could tell by the look on Antonio's face who was the DOA. He nodded. Josie, Antonio and Voight headed out to the docks.

When they arrived, Gradishar was there too. Sure enough, Joe Catalano was the DOA.

Gradishar looked up at the trio. "So that's Catalano, huh?"

Antonio nodded. "Yeah."

Hank, who wasn't about to lose any sleep over this one, joined in. "Well, he had a lot of enemies… Funny how justice in this city sometimes, huh." He grinned as he motioned for Antonio and Josie to join him as they headed back to the District, leaving Gradishar to accept her fate.

When they arrived to the District, Antonio got a call. Josie looked to her husband. "What's that all about?"

"Gradishar is demanding I come to her office right now."

Hank asked. "What about?"

"I'm guessing that she's pissed that I didn't turn you over to her… help her climb that damn ladder some more."

"Want me to come with?" Jo asked.

Antonio shook his head. "No… she doesn't know that y'all know what she's actually up to. I wanna keep it that way." He kissed Jo. "I'll be home in a bit." He turned to Voight. "Could you take her home please?"

Hank nodded. "Jo, let's go."

Antonio headed out and made his way to the Ivory Tower. He went to Gradishar's office to see her packing. He didn't knock. He just waited for her to notice he was there. When she saw him, he walked in calmly. She, on the other hand was furious. She slammed her office door closed and glared at him.

"What was fuck was that, Detective? Huh?!" Her anger was radiating. Antonio was snickering inside. She looked like a cartoon character who was smoking at the ears. "You gave me nothing! He somehow wriggled his way off the hook and I look like a fool! A fool! Or worse!"

Antonio walked closer to her. "You don't remember me do you." His voice was calm and deadly.

"What?!"

"You were just a patrolman in Internal Affairs. You investigated my partner… Sean Patterson." Gradishar tried to interrupt him, but he just kept going. "You went after him for some double-dipped overtime pay, some paperwork that he admitted to filing mistakenly! It should've been a slap on the wrist, but you wanted to make a name for yourself. Make an example of him, because you're a climber. Always have been." Antonio took a breath before continuing. Ten years of anger was ready to explode, but he wasn't going to lose it until he'd said every last thing he'd wanted to. "The union fought his charges, but you went after him harder. You took away his pension, bounced him from the job. He killed himself a year later! His family lost a father because you used him as the bottom rung of your ladder!" He got right up to her, pointing his finger right in her face. "You don't know. You don't know what we do… or what we sacrifice… or the price we pay for this. For the job. And you'll never know!"

With that Antonio spun on his heel and left her standing in shock in her office.

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"How'd it go?" Josie asked as Antonio made his way into their bedroom.

"She's done." Antonio sighed, tossing his clothes in the hamper. "Cooked."

"She really tried to have you turn against Dad… and the Unit?"

Antonio crawled into bed and pulled her close. "She tried to tell me that if I rolled on Voight, I'd be in line to lead Intelligence… get promoted, the whole 9."

"But you didn't…"

"No, babe… and I didn't do it for Voight… or the Unit… I didn't do it because I know what kind of cop Gradishar is…"

"You said she was involved in something with one of your past partners?"

Antonio nodded. "One of my first partners once I was on the job… after you were sent away… his name was Sean. He had a wife and a couple of great kids. He goofed on some paper work. IAB got involved and…"

"Gradishar was the one assigned to look into it."

"Yeah." Antonio sighed. "She was determined to climb higher up the chain, and she used Sean as the bottom rung. Union and the District fought her… but he lost everything and got booted from the job. He couldn't find work… so he killed himself. His wife and kids lost absolutely everything because that bitch couldn't see that it was a mistake that had triggered the whole thing."

"I'm sorry, babe." Jo hugged him tightly.

"Well, for now, Intelligence is under from IAB." Antonio kissed her. "Let's just hope it stays that way."

"Yeah… well, Dad and I talked."

"About?"

"Everything." Jo sighed. "Justin signed up for the Army. He's already headed out to basic."

"Well, Army will teach him a thing or two… whip him into shape."

"That's what I told Dad… I think it's just hard for him to accept that it didn't matter what he did to help him, Justin just has to learn everything the hard way."

"Sad reality for some people." Antonio whispered.

"Hey, our kids are good… they've got a lot more of a support system… they have both parents, both sets of grandparents… aunts, uncles… it's a lot more than Justin had… especially after his mom died."

"I know." He held her tightly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about this whole thing sooner."

"Hey, I didn't tell you when Erin showed up here." Jo rationalized. "Let's just hope we can keep some drama out of work for a while."

"How many more days until your parents' wedding?" Antonio asked.

"3 and a half months." Jo answered.

"So, 3 and a half more months of potential drama." Antonio reminded her.

"Yeah… I guess." She sighed.

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 _ **A/N: Well, there we go. Another update that was long overdue. Sorry for the delay. I'll be writing more often now. Stay tuned for more updates.**_

 _ **Lots of love, Nicole.**_


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